The Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) is set to significantly boost its international network as Vietnam’s leading budget carrier, VietJet Air (VJ), officially announced plans to launch a highly anticipated direct route between Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) and Cebu (CEB). Operated by Aboitiz InfraCapital Cebu Airport Corporation (ACAC), MCIA will welcome the new service starting 11 December 2026. The route will operate five round-trip flights per week, effectively doubling VietJet’s total capacity between the Philippines and Vietnam.
The high-profile announcement ceremony was led by VietJet Air’s Vice Chairman, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hung, alongside Aboitiz InfraCapital President and CEO, Cosette V. Canilao. The exchange took place during the Vietnam–Philippines Business Forum held on 01 June 2026, at the Diamond Hotel Manila. Formally integrated into the State Visit of Vietnamese President Tô Lâm (hosted by Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.), the event highlighted a deepening strategic partnership. During the forum, both nations signed a Tourism Cooperation Program for 2026 to 2029, designed specifically to foster mutual tourism growth and robust air connectivity.
“This development reflects the growing demand for travel between Cebu and Vietnam and highlights the strength of the relationship between our two countries,” said Canilao. “Direct connectivity plays a vital role in stimulating tourism, facilitating commerce, and creating opportunities that benefit our communities and economies.”
The upcoming launch marks a triumphant milestone for ACAC’s data-driven route development initiatives. To secure this route, ACAC intensified its strategic engagements with Vietnamese carriers through high-level visits and direct executive discussions at airline headquarters in Vietnam. In addition, network teams drove direct pitches during premier aviation events like Routes World and Routes Asia, while simultaneously sharing comprehensive market intelligence, traffic demand analyses, and growth projections directly with airline network planning departments. This proactive approach was further validated by a series of successful VietJet charter flights between Da Nang (DAD) and Cebu (CEB), which demonstrated an overwhelmingly strong outbound leisure demand from Filipino travelers.
Strengthening the “Ceb Connects” Hub Strategy
The Cebu–Ho Chi Minh City service advances MCIA’s flagship Ceb Connects program. This initiative positions Cebu as the premier tourism transfer hub of the Philippines, allowing international travelers to bypass Manila and seamlessly connect to the country’s world-renowned island destinations.
As part of this interconnected strategy, the two city hubs perfectly complement each other. Ho Chi Minh City serves as Vietnam’s largest commercial center and VietJet’s primary hub, offering travelers onward connections to continental markets including China, Japan, South Korea, India, Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan, and the Czech Republic. On the other side of the route, Mactan-Cebu operates as the Philippines’ busiest gateway outside Manila, providing a seamless domestic transfer point to premier Visayas and Mindanao destinations like Bohol, Siargao, and Boracay.
Bilateral relations between the two Southeast Asian nations are experiencing unprecedented momentum, with statistics highlighting a massive surge in mutual travel demand during the first four months of 2026. Filipino visitors to Vietnam reached 236,000 arrivals — representing a staggering 73.4% year-on-year increase — which propelled the Philippines into Vietnam’s top ten international source markets for the first time. Simultaneously, visitor arrivals from Vietnam to the Philippines grew by 35.3% year-on-year according to data from the Department of Tourism (DoT). This passenger growth mirrors expanding economic ties, as bilateral trade topped US$7.8 billion in 2025, with both governments actively targeting a US$10 billion trade volume in the near future.
VietJet’s localized presence anchors its aggressive expansion, supported by a dedicated team of more than 100 Filipino aviation professionals, including pilots, cabin crew members, engineers, and managers. Since 2019, VietJet has operated five distinct routes linking major Philippine cities like Manila (MNL), Davao (DVO), and Cebu (CEB) to Vietnamese hubs including Hanoi (HAN), Ho Chi Minh City (SGN), and Da Nang (DAD). This upcoming winter service cements VietJet’s long-term commitment to fueling tourism, trade, investment, and logistics between two of the region’s most dynamic economies.