Taiwan is latest international destination accessible from Clark Airport

Taiwan
Taiwan offers visa-free travel for residents of most developed countries, and the Philippines

A new international service is coming to Clark International, with a route connecting the airport to the capital city of Taiwan.

Low cost airline AirAsia Philippines has announced that a thrice-weekly service to Taipei will be launched on July 12.

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The airport’s president and chief executive officer Alexander Cauguiran said the service would link to Taoyuan International, Taiwan’s largest and busiest airport, and a major international hub.

He said: “This new development is an opportunity to explore the beauty of both the Philippines and Taiwan and will benefit travellers, tourists, overseas Filipino workers) and their families as well.

“The Taipei flights are also advantageous to numerous Taiwanese locators and other business travellers based in Clark and Subic.”

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Taiwan offers visa-free travel for residents of most developed countries, and also the Philippines.

AirAsia also services domestic routes including Kalibo, Caticlan, Puerto Princesa, Iloilo, Tacloban and Davao out of  Clark airport.

Various other airlines operating at Clark provide international connections to Busan, Doha, Dubai, Hong Kong, Macau, Osaka, Seoul, Shanghai and Singapore.

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Last year, more than one-and-a-half million passengers used the airport, but an ambitious expansion project could see that number swell to more than eight million by 2020.

The growth is already making itself felt, with last Monday (April 23) the busiest day recorded since the airport opened in 1995, with 8,736 passengers passing through the gates.

An expanded Clark International — which is built on the site of a former US Air Force base — is intended to make it a viable alternative to Manila’s congested NAIA.

Mr Caugurian said he was excited about the plans, adding: “There is definitely a surge at Clark airport in terms of the number of flights, destinations and passenger volume, along with the improvements of its facilities.” 

Last week, we reported on the opening of another international AirAsia route, with the launch of flights between Cebu and Shenzhen, China.