Attendees wearing rain covers pose with a flag of the Philippines in the stands at the Trocadero during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024, with the Eiffel Tower in the background. 2024 marks the Philippines' 100 years of Olympic participation and looks to match or surpass its historic medal haul in the previous Games with its 22-man delegation. Oli Scarff, AFP

MANILA — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Air France KLM on Tuesday announced that the French airline would begin direct flights between Manila and Paris on December 8. 

This is expected to “boost trade and tourism exchanges between our two countries”, the DOTr said.

Flights are expected to be sold online by Tuesday, September 10, said Femke Kroese, general manager of Air France KLM for Southeast Asia and Oceania.

“We will be offering competitive fares for the Filipino community to travel to Paris,” she said.

“We will also be launching promotional fares within the next period,” she added.

There will be three direct flights every week, particularly every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, the Air France executive said.

“These will be night flights so you will be arriving in the morning in Paris for you to have the whole day to explore,” she said.

“The gastronomy, the food and beverages are important for French people. Champagne will be served to all passengers so that you will be arriving in style,” she added.

The French Embassy ensures that it is equipped to handle an expected increase in visa applications, said French Ambassador to the Philippines Marie Fontanel.

“Having this direct flight is a request, a Christmas wish for many Filipinos and French partners,” she said.

“Probably there will be an increase so we will work a lot. The capacity of issuing visas will be the center of our work,” she said.

“We have to make this direct flight a success,” she added.

Meantime, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has also signed a memorandum of understanding with their French counterparts “to assist our agency for capacity building and improving safety and efficiency in managing the civil aviation,” Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said.

“It’s a very extensive cooperation which involves adopting best practices in the industry,” Bautista said.

The partnership is “in preparation” for a scheduled audit of Manila’s main gateway in early 2025, the Transport chief added.