2.33 million air passengers in first quarter

The Macau International Airport (MIA) has served more passengers this past quarter compared to the same period last year, the airport noted.

The airport handled 2.33 million passengers in the first quarter of this year. Compared with same period last year, there has been a 17 percent increase. There was a total of 18,000 flight movements in the first quarter, averaging 205 movements and 25,000 passengers per day.

An increase in passenger numbers was also recorded in the three major markets, namely mainland China, Southeast Asia and Taiwan, with 28 percent, 14 percent and 4 percent increases respectively. Approximately 11 percent and 29 percent more passengers travelled with conventional and budget airlines respectively.

Work on a shuttle route between the Macau port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge and the airport, as well as a check-in center, is underway. There are also self check-in kiosks available in the airport’s check-in area.

Despite the rising number of passengers using the Macau airport, the runway is yet to reach its full capacity.

In response to public concerns about the need for another runway, the airport noted that the current workload of the runway amounts to approximately 75 percent of its full capacity. By further narrowing the intervals between flights flying in and out – from the current 5 minutes to 3 minutes – the runway will be better utilized. Staff reporter