Pinoy diaspora prompts Emirates to open new route via Clark

The sheer number of Filipinos working and living in the Gulf and Middle East states has promted Emirates Airlines to open a second route in the Philippines, the company said Wednesday.

The airline will start flying to Clark International Airport on October 1 to service more Filipinos living and working overseas. Clark is the airline’s second destination in the Southeast Asian archipelago after Manila. 

 

“Over more than 20 years, Emirates has carried millions of passengers on the Dubai-Manila route and I am sure with the number of Filipinos on the move around the world, Clark will be equally successful,” Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, Emirates senior vice president for Commercial Operations in Gulf Middle East & Iran, said in a statement.

 

Nearly 680,000 Filipinos live in the United Arab Emirates alone, according to the Commission on Filipinos Overseas.

 

A further 342,000 Filipinos reside in Qatar, 186,000 are based in Kuwait and over 1.5 million live in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

 

“When you see these figures showing the full extent of the Filipino diaspora it’s clear how important a new route to the Philippines becomes,” the official said.

 

The new route will spur tourism and investments and provide a nearer choice to northern areas in Luzon, the airline noted, citing Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Grace Relucio Princesa.

 

"It will help Filipinos all over the world... to fly nearer their communities of origin, like in Pampanga... It will also mean access to Subic Freeport area and the Bataan area, which will also open tourism and investment opportunities for both countries,” she said. — Danessa Rivera/VS, GMA News