Airport expansion kicks off, targeting long-haul flight routes

The renovation and expansion of the Macau International Airport (MIA) officially began with a groundbreaking ceremony last Friday morning.

The large-scale project is expected to take at least six years to conclude. Over part of this period (around two years), the MIA will close the runway at night to accommodate construction work around the facility.

The project will be carried out in three phases and will include the addition of a landfill with an area of more than 129 hectares, increasing the area currently occupied by the airport by about 40%.

According to the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the MIA Company, Chan Weng Hong, the closing of the airport runway will not occur continuously throughout the two-year period (2026 and 2027). Instead, closures will happen over several months, with the exact timing determined by the progress of the construction worked. Chan said closures would be scheduled during off-peak hours to minimize disruption to airport operations.

Chan said the airport expansion is looking to increase the number of flight routes, particularly the introduction of long-haul flights. The goal is to boost passenger traffic at the MIA, making it viable for airlines to launch new routes. The lack of such routes is currently a commercial decision based on the potential low number of passengers on such routes.

“When the companies see that there is a demand for these routes, they will certainly open them,” Chan said, adding that for the time being, the goal is to improve connections to southeast and northeast Asian destinations and increase them from the 42 routes currently on offer.

At the ceremony, the chairman of the Board of Directors of the MIA Company, Ma Iao Hang, described the start of the expansion project as a “new era in the development of civil aviation in the territory,” adding that this investment “will increase the SAR’s competitiveness beyond borders.”

After the project’s completion, the MIA should be able to cater for 13 million passengers annually. The current MIA record was reached in 2019 when 9.6 million passengers arrived and departed from the airport. At the time, the figure accounted for a year-on-year increase of 16%.

Staging a post-pandemic recovery, the MIA has handled 6.34 million passengers over the first ten months of this year.

Concurrently with the groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion project, the Chief Executive, Ho Iat Seng, has also inaugurated the new Government VIP Lounge at the Macau International Airport.

Triparty MOU to enhance cooperation on safety

The Civil Aviation Authority of Macau (AACM) has signed a “Memorandum of Understanding on Close Cooperation in Airworthiness Certification” and the “Joint Operation Management Cooperation Arrangement (JOM)” with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and the Civil Aviation Department of Hong Kong SAR (HKCAD).

The MOU was signed Friday in Macau, with the AACM noting, “This marks a new chapter in the tripartite cooperation in the civil aviation field and lays a solid foundation for improving regional aviation safety and efficiency, demonstrating a vision for closer collaboration in the future.”

The MOU on “Close Cooperation in Airworthiness Certification” expands the scope of the original Joint Certification Management Cooperation Agreement (JCM) signed in 2018, aiming to further strengthen communication and collaboration in the field of airworthiness certification between mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, with a joint commitment to enhancing aviation safety and environmental protection.

As agreed, the three parties will establish and maintain the same or similar airworthiness standards and certification systems for civil aviation products, based on compliance with the airworthiness requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization and their respective laws and regulations, reducing the economic burden on the aviation industry.

According to the MOU, the cooperation covers the design approval of aviation products and components, optimization of airworthiness certification-related regulations and standards, and technical exchanges in the management of aircraft fuel.

The signing of the JOM is based on the shared interests of the three parties regarding safe operation management and a common aim to establish a joint safety supervision mechanism without interfering with the obligations each party undertakes under their respective laws and regulations.

The parties will enhance the efficiency of aviation operations in the three areas and achieve resource sharing through information sharing, technical support, and mutual consultation when formulating regulations, policies and guidelines related to this cooperation arrangement.