ZAMBOANGA CITY?After 10 years, the first regular commercial flights between this city and Jolo, capital of Sulu province, and Bongao, capital of Tawi-Tawi province, will start this week, an airline official said on Tuesday.

Sulu and Tawi-Tawi residents had to charter planes to fly to this city or take the longer boat route in the past.

But Maria Java, AirPhil Express vice president for marketing and media, said in a statement that flights would resume after an upgrade of airports in Jolo and Bongao was completed.

The flag carrier Philippine Airlines stopped flying these routes about 10 years ago because of runway problems in Jolo and Bongao.

Java said AirPhil Express would fly a 77-seat Bombardier Q400 in the Zamboanga-Jolo route three times weekly starting tomorrow and the Zamboanga-Bongao route four times weekly starting today.

Both routes offer connecting flights to Manila and Davao.

?Even before the runway was inaugurated, we were pushing to get new air routes set up,? said Robert Tan, president of the Tawi-Tawi Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Lobby

Tan said his group had lobbied hard for regular flights from and to Tawi-Tawi during meetings with AirPhil Express officials.

?We met with AirPhil Express officials in Manila to persuade them and to offer the chamber?s support,? he said.

The airport runway upgrades were implemented by the Department of Transportation and Communications, the provincial governments of Tawi-Tawi and Sulu, and the Growth with Equity in Mindanao Program.

The Tawi-Tawi runway was extended from 1,608 meters to 1,920 meters, and widened from 18 to 30 meters.

The Jolo airport runway was extended from 1,200 meters to 1,845 meters, and widened from 18 to 30 meters.

Bigger jets

The improvements will allow both airports to accommodate larger-bodied aircraft, such as Boeing 737s and Airbus 320s.

?It felt like landing on runways in the US, built to the highest standards,? Capt. Patrick Roa, AirPhil Express? chief pilot for safety and security, was quoted as saying. Roa had flown evaluation flights in July.

?The surface is grooved to ensure safety even during heavy rainfall,? he said.

Luis Go, president of the Sulu Chamber of Commerce, said the old runway could only accommodate 19-seat planes.

?We then had no choice then but to travel to Zamboanga by sea, which can be uncomfortable and takes a day,? he said.

Java said the Zamboanga-Jolo flight would last 20 minutes.

Linking people

She said AirPhil Express hoped that the shorter travel time would entice more people to book flights.

?People can now easily go to Zamboanga, which is the commercial hub of western Mindanao, to order stock and conduct business,? Go said.

He said the air service would also provide Sulu and Tawi-Tawi residents better access to government, medical and banking services.

?The AirPhil Express flights are boosting confidence all around,? Tan said.

He said the regular flights would also boost Tawi-Tawi?s seaweed and tourism industries. Ed General, Inquirer Mindanao