18 August 2023
Russian flag carrier Aeroflot is expected to fly to Manila from Moscow beginning first quarter of next year, according to the Philippine regulator CAB.
The route will be flown by Boeing 777-300ER thrice a week from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Alexander S. Pushkin International Airport (SVO) to Ninoy Aquino International Airport arriving midnight in Manila and leaving in the morning to the Russian capital. No specific time schedule has been provided by the airline at this time as they will still be loaded in the Global Distribution Platform (GDS) after official announcement.
CAB said Aeroflot’s application to fly to Manila was made in 2017 under CAB Case No. EP-17-3695-ACFD-072017-0045-R and was approved a year later but its introduction into the country was delayed due to the covid19 pandemic which hit the country in 2020.
According to the spokesperson of the Russian Embassy in Manila, renewed application was made by Aeroflot in June this year from Russian aviation regulator Rosaviatsiya, the Federal Agency for Air Transport, for modification of approved route due to landing slot issues in Manila. The renewal was approved sometime in July with route modification. Separate application was made in the Philippines and recently approved by Philippine regulators this week, after obtaining landing slots from Airport Coordinator ACA at the congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The new application calls for triangular service from Moscow to Manila and Cebu and vice versa arriving in Manila and Cebu in the evening and then leaving Cebu early morning for Manila early morning arrival and departure to Moscow.
Under the Russia-Philippines Air Services Agreement approved in 2015, both Aeroflot and Philippine Airlines is entitled to fly daily flights between Moscow and Manila. The 2015 ASA amended the 2009 agreements made between the two countries. In addition, Philippine Airlines also asked beyond traffic rights to London and two other flights to Europe, either in Amsterdam, Paris, Rome, Frankfurt, and Madrid subject to fifth freedom limitations.
The new agreement also allows Philippine carriers to conduct operations between any point in the country and three destinations in Russia, including Moscow.
Philippine airlines has since utilized Kalibo-Vladivostok and Manila-Vladivostok for its seasonal route sometime in 2017, while Russian Airlines flew Vladivostok, Khabarovsk and Krasnoyarsk to Kalibo from 2016.
Russian Embassy earlier said it registered 27% passenger growth bound for Russia in 2019, mostly Filipino workers in health, construction and mining sectors, attributed to good personal relationship between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.
Meanwhile, a separate flights from the Russian far east of Khabarovsk to Kalibo, and Vladivostok to Kalibo and Cebu is likewise being prepared for both S7 and Aurora airlines for 2023 winter schedule. Both will be operated by Airbus A320 aircraft.
