Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has signed a law giving Skyjet Airlines (M8, Manila Ninoy Aquino International) the power to operate domestic and international air transport services for 25 years, the Manila Bulletin has reported.
Enabling SkyJet - which commenced operations in December 2012 - to continue operating passenger, cargo and mail services, Republic Act No. 11410 was signed by the president on August 22 and released by the president's office last week, the newspaper said.
“With the granting of this franchise, we can now pursue our plans in expanding our fleet as well as our new destinations and even launching international routes,” said the carrier's president Dino Reyes Chua, who is also a politician and the current mayor of Noveleta, a municipality 20 kilometres from Manila. “We will continue to be a catalyst in developing new tourism destinations and discover the undiscovered, explore the unexplored islands in the Philippines”.
“Air transport services shall include the maintenance and operation of hangars and aircraft service stations and facilities and other services of similar nature which may be necessary, convenient or useful as an auxiliary to aircraft transportation,” the law says.
The law allows Magnum Air, operating as SkyJet Airlines, to offer at least 30% of its shares to the public within five years of operation, allowing it to be traded in the Philippine Stock Exchange subject to approval by the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission.
Skyjet owns one BAe 146-100, which is currently stored, and three BAe 146-200s, one of which is inactive. It operates four routes from the capital to the island destinations of Busuanga (18x weekly), Camiguin (7x weekly), Basco, and San Vicente (each 4x weekly) while maintaining ambitions to launch similar leisure routes.
