BRUSSEL — President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. sees a quicker pace of economic development in the Philippines through easier access to Western Europe by mounting direct flights between Manila and Brussels.

Malacañang said Marcos on Tuesday met Brussels airport officials, who agreed to offer direct flights between Manila and Brussels.

Press Undersecretary Cheloy Garafil said the proposal to open the Manila-Brussels direct flight came from the Belgian businessmen who showed great interest in gaining a foothold in the Philippines.

Arnaud Feist, chief executive officer of Brussels Airport Company, described the Manila-Brussels direct flight as a "win-win" for both countries.

"We are working on the opportunity to have a direct flight between Manila and Brussels… and we think that basically there is a win-win for both countries to be connected directly," Feist said.

Non-stop opportunity

Marcos, in response, said opening a non-stop flight to Brussels serves as an opportunity for Filipinos who want to explore Belgium as well as Western Europe.

"When we talk about Brussels in our mind, it's really Western Europe because, very clearly, Brussels is the center of that. And that is something of great interest," he said.

"The pent-up demand over the pandemic is now beginning to show itself, and the demand for air travel has actually increased a great deal more quickly than any had expected," he added.

Marcos pointed out that all capitals in Southeast Asia are within a few hours from Manila.

"That's something that we would like to take advantage of and explore in terms of making the areas more accessible… I think there's a great deal of opportunity that would be advantageous for the both of us," Marcos told Feist.

For their part, meanwhile, Philippine Airlines officials said they are "really interested" in providing accessibility in connecting Filipinos to the whole European nation as well as bringing more tourists from Europe to the Philippines.

"That's really the vision that we are excited to see. We want to improve the economic activities in the Philippines and also here," said Stanly Ng, PAL president and chief operating officer.