Royal Air Philippines Faces Administration, Cancelling 4K Flights

0:00On March 13, a budget airline based in the Philippines called Royal Air Philippines has entered administration, leading to the cancellation of around 4,000 flights scheduled between January and March of 2026. The carrier flies domestic routes within the Philippines and international ones to spots like Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, and Taiwan. It began as a charter service in 2002, shifted to regular commercial flights in 2018, after getting approval the year before, and grew its fleet with Airbus jets by 2020. Passengers now face big disruptions, with the airline promising refunds while its website sits offline, stuck on a loading screen. Travelling numbers tell the story of trouble, with international passengers dropping sharply to about $52,000 in the nine months through, September of 2025, after peaks the prior two years, and domestic flyers down 63% in 2024. This comes amid a wave of airline woes elsewhere, including several UK carriers that liquidated

1:04last year, like Ecojet Airlines, Blue Islands, Eastern, Airways, and Play Airlines, plus four travel firms shutting down so far this year. Industry watchers point to falling demand as a key factor, leaving travelers to rethink plans and regulators to step in on protections.