(Korean Air Airbus A330-300 is welcomed at CRK with a ceremonial water cannon salute upon landing on its maiden flight on Sunday. Photo by Joann M. Valenciano)
CLARK FREEPORT — Korean Air launched its inaugural flight at the Clark International Airport here upon landing last Sunday with a ceremonial water cannon salute.
Korean Air’s maiden flight, KE 635, landed at 10:45 a.m. from Incheon International Airport in South Korea with an initial 214 passengers on board a wide-bodied A330 aircraft.
An inaugural flight ceremony was held at the Clark International Airport departure area attended by Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade, Korean Air Manila regional manager Cheol Lee, tourism regional director Carolina Uy, and Luzon International Premiere Airport Development Corp. (LIPAD) president Bi Yong Chungunco.
A cake-cutting ceremony was also held to symbolize completion of the event and longevity of the route followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Chungunco said almost two million Korean tourists came to Central Luzon in 2018. “Korea is the favorite destination of the Filipinos (with the influence of) K-pop, the food, and sceneries, and likewise Koreans love to visit the Philippines,” she said.
Chungunco also recounted Tugade’s marching order during the LIPAD turnover ceremony: “Paliparin mo ang paliparan na ito.”
She said they are taking Tugade’s order to heart that is why “today’s Korean Air flight is a major milestone and one of the three major international flights that we are opening in one single month in October.”
Chungunco said LIPAD is strongly committed to the goal of accelerating economic development in the region.
Tugade expressed his thoughts and gratitude to Korean Air saying that he has a “staunch belief of Clark as a destination and a primary gateway” to the world.
“Now Clark is becoming a center and a hub of passengers and logistics for the movement of cargo not only in Central Luzon but also in surrounding areas,” Tugade said.
For his part, Lee said Korean Air is optimistic with its new Incheon-Clark route proving it with the use of a wide-bodied A330 aircraft flying on a daily basis.
Korean Air is flying a daily, non-stop service between Incheon and Clark. The A330 is the largest passenger aircraft to land at the Clark International Airport.
The flight departs Incheon at 7:55 a.m. and arrives in Clark at 11:05 a.m. It then departs Clark at 1:10 p.m. and arrives back at Incheon at 6:10 p.m.
The flight is seen to complement trade and tourism between the Philippines and South Korea and will be an effective connecting hub to other destinations around the globe.
Passengers entering South Korea and wishing to travel onwards enjoy easy connections at Incheon with access at a wide range of destinations in Asia and Oceania for both business and leisure travel.
Korean Air is one of the world’s top 20 airlines carrying more than 26 million passengers in 2018.
It is also a founding member of the SkyTeam airline alliance and launched a joint venture partnership with Delta Air Lines in the trans-Pacific market in May 2018.
Korean Air is also celebrating its golden anniversary in 2019 with a vision to be a respected leader in the world airline community, dedicated to providing excellence in flight.
With the addition of the new route, Korean Air now operates international flights to 125 cities in 44 countries.
Meanwhile, a total of 69 passengers were scheduled to depart Sunday afternoon to Incheon Seoul through flight KE636 to complete its first flight in and out of CRK.
