MCIA passenger traffic hits 10M in 2017

Passenger traffic at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport saw a 14 percent growth last year hitting 10.05 million.

Latest data from MCIA Authority showed passenger count at the country’s second busiest airport reached 10.05 million in 2017, up 14% from 8.83 million in 2016.

International passengers grew 29 percent to 3.15 million last year from 2.44 million in 2016.

While the number of domestic passengers reached 6.90 million in 2017, up 8 percent from 6.39 million a year prior.

Meanwhile, air traffic volume also saw a 21 percent growth from January to December last year to 86,380 from 71,543 in 2016.

International flights reached 21,070, up 34 percent from 15,739, while domestic flights rose 17 percent to 65,310 from 55,804.

Earlier, Shalimar Tamano, regional director of the Department of Tourism in Central Visayas, expressed optimism on Cebu’s tourism industry prospects with the anticipated opening of the new MCIA terminal this year.

He said Cebu should be able to receive longhaul aircrafts and connect directly to destinations as far as the US and Europe, seen as an added boost to the tourism sector.

The opportunity to have more direct flights and increased connectivity to Cebu should be welcomed, he noted.

"The opportunity includes short-haul flights from China and Vietnam," the DOT official said.

Tamano projected the Mactan Airport would be able to accommodate bigger long-haul aircrafts in the future with the expansion of its capacity.

"We also hope direct flights from Australia, India, Europe and the US will also materialize in the near future," the tourism official said.

Cebu is continuously promoted as an alternative international gateway to the Philippines, given its strategic geographical location and proximity to tourist destinations in southern Philippines.

MCIA private operator GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp, the consortium of Megawide Construction Corp and GMR Infrastructure Ltd, plans to open the Terminal 2 in June.

The new terminal building in MCIA will have a capacity of about 13 million passengers annually and will serve domestic and international operations.

In 2014, GMR-Megawide won the 25-year public private partnership (PPP) contract to build, operate and maintain the new MCIA terminal for some P17.52 billion.

Last June 2017, the consortium submitted a P208-billion unsolicited proposal for MCIA's 50year development.

For the next two years, the firm is planning to introduce new routes that will connect Cebu to Australia, Europe and other Southeast Asian countries, as well as expand routes to China, Japan and South Korea.

The company is also targeting new flights to North Asia, the Middle East, North America, and Europe.