Royal Air suspends flights as demand slows in China

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January 1, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines —  Clark-based carrier Royal Air Philippines is suspending all of its commercial flights starting Jan. 4 as travel demand in its market failed to recover from the pandemic lockdowns.

In a letter dated Dec. 22, 2025, Royal Air CEO Eduardo Novillas told travel agency Juichi International Travel Co. Ltd. that the airline is grounding commercial operations by Jan. 4.

Novillas said the end of the pandemic may have brought optimism to the airline industry, but not to Royal Air, given the geopolitical tensions facing the Philippines.

Citing the pre-pandemic situation, Novillas said Royal Air is reliant on the entry of East Asians into the Philippines, especially from China and South Korea. It is designed to bring guests from these markets to domestic destinations like Bohol, Boracay and Puerto Princesa.

However, Novillas said the geopolitical conflicts, likely between Manila and Beijing, have muted the flight demand in Royal Air’s target market. Right now, the Philippines is fending off Chinese aggression in parts of the West Philippine Sea.

In 2024, President Marcos also banned Philippine offshore gaming operators, a policy that drove off Chinese nationals who benefitted heavily from the industry during the Duterte administration.

“The common explanation from our business partners is that the current interest of their locals to visit the Philippines is significantly low to obscure, and that they will contact Royal Air once the interest becomes healthy and heightened again,” Novillas said.

He committed to refund passengers who would be affected by the operational suspension as also announced on Royal Air’s website.

Royal Air showed signs of partial recovery in 2023 and 2024, when it flew 100,323 and 116,324 international passengers, respectively. However, the carrier ferried just 51,764 in the nine months to September 2025, signaling a slowdown.

The picture is worse on the domestic front, where Royal Air posted a 63 percent dip in passenger traffic to 38,845 in 2024, from 104,473 in 2023. Certainly, it did not help the airline that its larger competitors were expanding fleet and network during that period.

Further, there are no signs of recovery in Chinese demand for Southeast Asian trips as argued by Asian Development Bank economist Jules Hugot in a recent blog.

“Cambodia and the Philippines are seeing some of the biggest shortfalls, with their arrivals from the People’s Republic of China still down 47 percent and 82 percent from pre-pandemic levels in early-2025, respectively,” Hugot said.