ZAMBOANGA CITY – Cebu Pacific Air (CEB), the country’s largest national flag carrier, will make its maiden flight to Tawi-Tawi on Friday.

The flight will depart Zamboanga International Airport at 6:25am and will arrive at the Sanga-Sanga Airport in Bongao town at 7:25am.

The regular daily flight from Tawi-Tawi is scheduled to depart at 7:55am and to arrive in Zamboanga City at 8:55am.

“CEB offers the lowest fare between Zamboanga and Tawi-Tawi, its 50th destination. We are very optimistic about our Zamboanga operations, especially since this is our fourth route from this commercial center in Western Mindanao. We can see that the market for Cebu Pacific flights can really be stimulated by our trademark low fares,” said CEB Vice President for Marketing and Distribution Candice Iyog said in a statement.

Representatives from the local government and community stakeholders are among CEB’s first passengers from Zamboanga City to Tawi-Tawi.

The airline’s lowest year-round fare for the Zamboanga-Tawi-Tawi route is P599 and the new route would be served by an Airbus A319.

The Sanga-Sanga Airport already has the capability to accommodate larger aircraft as its runway was extended from 1,608 meters to 1,930 meters and widened from 18 meters to 30 meters in width two years ago.

The United States Agency for International Development through its Growth with Equity  Program chipped in P100 million while the Philippine government contributed P92.2 million as its counterpart for the expansion and widening of the Sanga-Sanga Airport.

Officials of the Tawi-Tawi Chamber of Commerce and Industry earlier said the airport upgrade gives the province aquaculture and eco-tourism industries a competitive advantage.