It connects the Philippine capital with various cities in China.
Last May 16, Qingdao Airlines mounted its maiden flight connecting the Philippines’ capital Manila and the Changsha.
On its first flight, 56 passengers were onboard in the flight that arrived in Manila at 2:20 am. Meanwhile, its outbound flight departed at 3:15 am carrying 170 passengers.
The route will operate every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday until October 24, 2026, noted the Philippines’ Department of Tourism, which welcomed the launch of the service.
Qingdao Airlines (QW) is a domestic airline founded in 2013 and is operating from a hub at Qingdao Liuting International Airport (TAO) with a fleet of six Airbus A320s.
It serves nine other destinations — including Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK), Changchun Longjia International Airport (QGC), Changsha Huanghua International Airport (CSX), and Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG).
Meanwhile, on May 20, XiamenAir made the inaugural flight of its Hangzhou-Manila service, the first of its new pair of routes to the Philippine capital.
76 passengers were onboard the maiden flight, which arrived at 7:45 pm at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1, while its return service departed for Hangzhou at 9:00 pm, with 122 passengers onboard.
This new route will operate four times weekly— every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday — until October 31, 2026.
The following day, May 21, the inaugural flight of XiamenAir’s Manila-Chongqing service touched down at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) at 7:30 pm, with a total of 74 passengers onboard.
Meanwhile, its outbound flight left at 9:00 pm on the same day, carrying a number of 97 passengers.
This direct route will operate every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday until October 31, 2026.
XiamenAir is one of China’s major airlines with a fleet of 211 aircraft, operating over 400 domestic and international routes. Established in 1984 and headquartered in Xiamen, the airline serves more than 40 million passengers annually.
This new service flight adds to the growing number of direct international routes to the country.
Together, these direct flights linking Manila and these three cities strengthens air connectivity between the Philippines and China, following the restoration of the visa-free policy for Chinese tourists, which is one of the Philippines’ top source markets.
