Air passenger volume at Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) rose 10 percent to 9.5 million in January to September this year from 8.6 million in the same period last year, according to airport operator GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. (GMCAC).
With this, GMCAC is on track to meet its 12.8- million passenger target this year, which is 11 percent higher than last year’s 11.5 million and a significant growth compared to just 6.9 million in 2014.
“For these (past) first five years, we have seen strong, positive growth at MCIA, most notably in connectivity and passenger traffic… we will continue to transform the MCIA into a main hub in Southeast Asia,” said Louie Ferrer, GMCAC president.
GMCAC in partnership with the airport authority Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority welcomed the inaugural flight of Air Busan from Incheon International Airport last November 13.
The carrier operates the Cebu-Incheon route daily using Airbus 321-200 with a 195-passenger capacity and Mono class service.
Currently, Air Busan offers six domestic routes and 32 international routes (including Incheon — Cebu). The airline also has plans to continuously expand their route to Japan, China, Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia and, in Guam.
Currently, MCIA is connected to 23 international destinations from only seven at handover in 2014; and 28 domestic destinations from 23 in 2014.
The airport now has a total of 26 partner carriers — nine Philippine-based and 17 foreign airline partners — from just 11 in 2014.