Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia proposed to open direct flights from Russia to Cebu and vice versa as she met with the Federal Agency for Air Transport Agency (FAATA) of the Russian Federation.

Garcia with other Capitol officials and the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) is on an official trip to Russia.

During a meeting, Lev Kosinov, the head of the Department of Transportation Regulation and International Cooperation of FAATA, said they are open to the idea of Russian fleets flying directly to Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) as long as there is a market for them to compete effectively and to make a profit.

Kosinov said Aeroflot Russian Airlines, the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia, signified interest to fly to Cebu once there is already a market.

“I have spoken to Aeroflot a while ago and they are interested to explore these destinations, especially if there is a demand from travel agencies,” he said in Russian but was translated by an interpreter.

Governor Garcia told Kosinov that establishing direct flights to Cebu is not only for tourism as Cebu is also interested in welcoming Russian investments.

She noted that Aeroflot is flying direct from St. Petersburg in Russia to Phuket, Thailand which is only less than an hour more if it was flying direct to Cebu.

“It has already been done; we hope that the next direct flight will be to Cebu,” Garcia said.

Kosinov explained that their market indicator for airlines to fly to Cebu as of last year was already at 87 percent, but they needed to reach their 92 percent requirement for it to become commercially viable.

To finalize the details, Governor Garcia invited Kosinov, along with other FAATA officials and Russian tourism stakeholders, to come to Cebu and meet with their Filipino counterparts this coming August to discuss details in achieving this plan, one of which is to market the exchange of tourists. 

Russian Consul to Cebu Armi Lopez Garcia, who was also present during the meeting, said the Winter Escapade exchange is being mulled wherein Russians fly to Cebu to escape the cold winter, and for Filipinos to fly to Russia to experience winter.

Garcia told Kosinov that because Cebu is located at the center of the Philippines, its geographical advantage can be a hub for connecting flights from Russia going to other neighboring countries.