Emirates adds more flights to the Philippines

The Dubai airline is resuming flights to Clark from August 1

Emirates will resume flights to Clark in the Philippines from August 1. Getty Images

Emirates is adding more flights to the Philippines.

The Dubai airline will resume flights to Clark from August 1.

There will be six flights per week with the first service scheduled to depart Dubai International Airport just before 3am on Saturday.

Operated by a Boeing 777-300, flight EK2520 will depart Dubai on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. The flight will land in Clark around 4pm.

A second service, flight number EK2572, will depart Dubai on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. It will leave the UAE just before 5am, landing in the Philippines at 6pm.

This means the airline will be flying to 68 destinations in August. Emirates is slowly rebuilding its network as travel restrictions around the world ease and demand picks up.

Clark is the second destination in the Philippines where the airline has resumed flights. Daily services from Dubai to Manila have been operating since June 11.

Manila restrictions extended

Coronavirus-related restrictions in Manila have been extended until mid-August.

In a televised address, President Rodrigo Duterte placed the capital regions and provinces south of it under general community quarantine.

Schools, universities and tourist destinations will stay closed and stay-at-home orders remain for the elderly and children.

The news came in the same month that the country recorded Southeast Asia's biggest daily jump in Covid-19 related deaths and the biggest single-day increase of confirmed infections.

Duterte also promised free vaccines if they became available by later this year, saying that priority would be given to the poor. He also said that the Philippines will be given precedence by China for vaccine distribution.

Travel restrictions to the Philippines remain in place. From August 1, the only foreign nationals that can enter the country will be those holding long-term visas.

Foreign spouses and children travelling with a Filipino national and members of international organisations already accredited to the Philippines will be exempt from this restriction.