New air route linking Wuhan, Manila opens

A new direct air route linking Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, with Manila, capital of the Philippines, will open in November, China Southern Airlines announced Tuesday.

It is the first regular direct flight between the two cities, it added.

The service will be launched on Nov. 6 at a special price of 670 yuan (about 100 U.S. dollars) for a round trip. Four flights will depart Wuhan at 0:45 a.m. and arrive in Manila at 3:40 a.m. Beijing time on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The return flight will leave Manila at 4: 40 a.m. and arrive in Wuhan at 8:10 a.m.

China, especially its central region, has become a major source of tourists for the Philippines, according to Wang Hai, marketing manager at the Hubei branch of China Southern Airlines.

Data from the Department of Tourism in the Philippines showed that from January to July this year, more than 454,900 Chinese tourists visited the Philippines, up 33.4 percent year on year.

In June 2015, Wuhan launched charter flights to Boracay Island, a popular resort island in the central Philippines.