Sunlight Air moving all flights to Clark

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February 17, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — An emerging Philippine carrier is withdrawing operations from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) by March 29 to transfer fully to the Clark International Airport.

In an advisory, boutique carrier Sunlight Air said it is pulling out of NAIA in compliance with the directive of the Manila Slot Coordination Committee (MSCC).

Sunlight is a carrier known for mounting weekly services to some of the country’s hard-to-reach islands, including Coron, Siargao and Siquijor.

The airline, owned by millennial CEO Ryna Brito-Garcia, also flies to high-demand destinations like Boracay and Cebu. However, Sunlight operates an all-turboprop fleet, so it has no choice but to fully relocate operations to Clark.

MSCC, led by the Department of Transportation, has ordered airlines to remove turboprop flights in NAIA by March 29. Turboprops are assigned primarily to reach airports with shorter or unpaved runways, mostly found in island destinations like Basco and Siargao.

However, MSCC wants turboprops out of NAIA to improve operational efficiency, allocating the airport’s runway solely for jetliners that carry more passengers.

Turboprops can ferry up to 78 passengers only, but single-aisle aircraft like the Airbus A320 can fly as many as 180 people per flight, making them more cost-efficient to operate.

“This government-led transition aims to improve runway capacity, reduce airport congestion and support safer and more efficient air traffic operations at NAIA,” Sunlight said.

Sunlight presently manages a fleet of four turboprops made by French manufacturer ATR. The airline owns three 72-500s, and in 2025 added a 72-600 for a larger capacity.

In earlier conversations with The STAR, Brito-Garcia confirmed that Sunlight has plans to buy a jetliner before 2028. A jump into the jetliner segment, however, requires a minimum investment of $101 million, which is the list price of an A320, the most popular aircraft in the Philippines.

Still, Brito-Garcia is leaning on the benefits of such an investment, as a jetliner will open up new opportunities for Sunlight, including launching international flights.

For now, Sunlight will be operating fully from the Clark International Airport, which would see a spike in flight options by March 29 when the remaining turboprops from airlines as big as Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines come in.