Philippine Airlines (PR, Manila Ninoy Aquino International) has urged the Filipino government not to concede any further increases in weekly flight frequencies during upcoming bilateral talks with Qatar, scheduled for May 30 and 31.

Earlier this month, both Philippine Airlines and local rival Cebu Pacific Air (5J, Manila Ninoy Aquino International) announced they would be suspending flights to select destinations in the Gulf later this summer citing capacity dumping by Middle Eastern carriers.

Given these developments, the Business World newspaper quotes PAL President Jaime J. Bautista as telling a press conference last week that the government of Rodrigo Duterte should not grant the Qataris any further access to the Filipino market.

"[O]ur position is that there should be no additional flights, just like our position during the last air talks," he said. "[T]here is overcapacity now [to the Middle East] as I've mentioned earlier, the Middle Eastern carriers are carrying passengers from Manila Ninoy Aquino International to the Middle East to other destinations - but we should consider also the traffic between the two countries."

The carrier has, in the past, also highlighted the already high level of congestion that Manila Ninoy Aquino International already experiences; a situation that would only worsen should operators like Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, and Emirates be allowed to field extra flights.

"It would be inconsistent and discriminatory for the government to now take a different approach and allow UAE airlines to expand to Manila. Congestion will be worsened, not just in terms of runway movements but also more passengers coursing through NAIA's overburdened terminals," it said in a statement. "If airlines like Emirates and Etihad are so bent on putting up more flights to the Philippines then they should fly to Davao instead."

As previously reported, over the course of the next five weeks, Cebu Pacific will terminate flights to each of Kuwait, Doha Hamad International, and Riyadh leaving only Dubai International as its sole Middle Eastern destination. For its part, PAL will suspend its Abu Dhabi International service from July 8 onwards.