Macau airport reaches 8.2m passengers, breaking record

The Macau International Airport (MIA) achieved a new record for passenger traffic in 2018, registering 8.26 million arriving and departing passengers, which is 15 percent more than 2017. According to data released yesterday, the airport handled over 65,000 aircraft movements, representing an increase of 12 percent.

“It is the highest passenger traffic MIA has accomplished, over 12 times the local population,” stated a press release issued by MIA.

In 2019, the airport management pledged to continue expanding in terms of passenger numbers and facilities. “In the aspect of market development, we will fully develop long-haul routes, aiming to change the current passenger market structure, thus attracting more international and local travelers flying to and from MIA,” the press release reads.

In terms of facilities, at the end of 2018, MIA has commenced the design and construction works of the south side of the existing passenger terminal to increase the capacity of the terminal building.

Reviewing the past year, MIA highlighted the addition of 10 new international routes, including Sanya, Qingdao, Xian and Kunming (China); Phuket and Krabi (Thailand); Tuguegarao and Cebu (Philippines); Kota Kinabalu (Malaysia) and Taegu (South Korea).

There are currently 27 airlines operating at MIA, connecting Macau to 51 destinations. Among them, the passenger traffic from routes of mainland China, Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia account for 37 percent and 41 percent of the total passenger volume of the airport.

Six new airlines are flying to Macau, namely Small Planet Airlines, Royal Air Charter Service, Cambodia Airways, KC International Airlines, JSC Royal Flight Airlines and Zhejiang Loong Airlines. A charter flight service to Russia has been introduced.

In 2018, the Taiwan market grew by 1 percent while Southeast Asia market and mainland China market increased by 9 percent and 34 percent respectively. There was a growth of 11 percent in passengers taking low-cost airlines and an increase of 18 percent in passengers taking traditional airlines.