The European Union has lifted a three-year ban on Philippine Airlines flying into its airspace after the national carrier addressed safety concerns, the EU's ambassador to Manila said Wednesday.
PAL will be allowed to fly into the 28-member bloc from Friday, which will spur tourism and business links, ambassador Guy Ledoux said.
"This is a tremendous achievement in such a short period of time," Ledoux said.
He added that the EU would conduct further reviews so other Philippine carriers would also be able to fly to Europe as well.
"This decision is very encouraging and is the first success of CAAP (Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines) and Philippine Airlines," he told reporters.
"EU-Philippines trade and investment relations will benefit from the lifting of the air ban," Ledoux added.
He remarked that even without direct flights, European tourist arrivals to the Philippines rose by about 10 percent last year to 349,000 and expressed hope that the lifting of the ban would boost this even further.
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