Philippine Airlines will restore daily nonstop service between Manila and Dubai on October 25, more than three weeks after the route itself returns, according to a public post by the flag carrier’s regional head for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Josh Vasquez.
The post, published this week, was framed as a correction to what Vasquez described as inaccurate claims circulating online about the airline’s Gulf operations. It laid out the current status of all three of PAL’s Middle East routes.
The Dubai schedule remains as announced last month. PAL said on June 29 that Manila–Dubai flights would return October 2 with four weekly frequencies on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Flight PR 658 departs Manila at 12:50 p.m. and lands in Dubai at 6 p.m., while PR 659 leaves Dubai at 7:45 p.m. and arrives in Manila at 9:10 a.m. the following day. Philippine News Agency reported at the time that the airline planned to progressively raise frequencies to daily as operational considerations allowed, without specifying a date — making the October 25 target the newest detail in Vasquez’s post.
Doha service resumed July 1 at four flights weekly and is set to go daily at the start of August. Vasquez cited August 1; Qatar-based outlet Marhaba reported earlier this month that daily Doha–Manila flights would begin August 2, a discrepancy consistent with the separate outbound and inbound scheduling PAL has used on the route. Riyadh flights, the post said, have run normally since April. PAL restored Manila–Riyadh service on April 10, initially with a technical stop in Bangkok.
The three routes were suspended together earlier this year as the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran forced carriers to avoid affected airspace. PAL cited restricted airspace, sudden closures and limited routing options in successive advisories that pushed the Doha restart to June 30 and the Dubai restart to August 2 before both dates were revised.
The Dubai link carries particular weight for overseas Filipino workers. Philippine Statistics Authority data showed 12.4 percent of all OFWs were based in the UAE as of 2024. Other carriers kept flying through the disruption — Cebu Pacific maintained its Dubai service, saying its routing did not cross conflict-affected airspace, and Emirates continued operating from Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.
PAL is marketing the Dubai return with an introductory all-inclusive round-trip fare from $650 for a limited period. The airline has directed passengers to its website and verified social media accounts for schedule changes, noting that conditions in the region remain subject to reassessment.
