𝐗𝐈𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐍 𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐄 𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐍𝐙𝐇𝐎𝐔–𝐂𝐄𝐁𝐔 𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒
Xiamen Airlines of China is set to resume direct flights between Quanzhou in Fujian Province and Cebu on March 29, restoring a key air link expected to boost tourism, business, and trade between China and the Philippines.
The route’s comeback is seen to support the national government’s efforts to revive inbound tourism from China following a recent policy granting visa-free entry for short-term Chinese visitors.
Chinese Consul General Zhang Zhen met with Cebu Gov. Pamela Baricuatro on March 9 at the Capitol to discuss the resumption of the service. Executives of Xiamen Airlines also attended the meeting.
The route will operate twice weekly—every Tuesday and Saturday—linking Quanzhou Jinjiang International Airport in Fujian with Mactan–Cebu International Airport. The airline confirmed that the route will restart as part of its summer schedule following bilateral consultations that secured additional traffic rights and ground-handling support.
The restored service reconnects Quanzhou—a major manufacturing hub known for shoes, textiles, and stone products—with Cebu, the commercial center of the Visayas. The direct route is expected to make business travel more efficient for companies that previously relied on connecting flights through Xiamen or Manila.
Gov. Baricuatro welcomed the development, saying it signals a new chapter of people-to-people exchanges between the two regions. As a sign of support, the governor said she will board the first Xiamen Airlines trip from Cebu to China, bringing with her a group of travel operators and vloggers to help promote the destination, and vice versa.
The renewed route comes shortly after the Philippine government introduced a 14-day visa-free entry for Chinese tourists in January, part of efforts to revive the Chinese travel market. Before the pandemic, China was the Philippines’ second-largest source of international visitors.
China currently ranks sixth among the Philippines’ top inbound markets, with more than 200,000 Chinese travelers visiting the country in 2025, behind South Korea, the United States, Japan, Australia, and Canada. | CAPITOL PIO
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