MANILA - Cebu Pacific Air will launch in July night flights to and from Caticlan, the gateway to tourism spot Boracay, the airline announced Thursday.

The country's leading budget airline said it would add two round-trip flights for this route daily, with the last leaving Manila at 6:55 PM and returning from Caticlan at 8:45 PM.

This would bring to 72 the total number of Cebu Pacific flights to Caticlan, including the current 60 from Manila, Cebu and Clark.

Cebu Pacific said it would be the first carrier to mount night flights and use the upgraded air traffic control system and newly-installed night navigational equipment at Caticlan's Godofredo P. Ramos Airport.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), the Department of Transportation, and other relevant aviation authorities gave the operations the green light after technical reviews and consultations on Caticlan Airport's night operation capability.

“We thank CAAP for continually leading the scale-up of our airports to night-flying capability. We believe that expansion of operating times will not only boost frequencies to key domestic routes, but it will also give travelers more options, greater flexibility on when they fly and also help decongest air traffic, especially during the peak flying hours at noon and early afternoon,” said JR Mantaring, Cebu Pacific's Vice President for Corporate Affairs.

Mantaring said the launch of evening flights to and from Boracay, world-renowed beach destination, was "a long-standing request of tourism stakeholders."

The additional flights, he said, would make flights available to more passengers.