The Mactan-Cebu International Airport’s new Terminal 2 is one of the factors that will drive tourism in Cebu as well as other sectors like property and real estate especially in Mactan Island.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis that has crippled the aviation industry worldwide has also resulted in a decline in passenger traffic and airport earnings for the first three months this year.
Megawide Construction Corporation reported on Friday, May 29, before the Philippine Stock Exchange that Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) only recorded P803 million of revenue from January to March, a 10 percent drop compared to the previous year.
The engineering conglomerate said this was the result of a 21 percent decrease in passenger traffic in the country’s second-busiest gateway for the first three months of 2020 as lockdowns and COVID-19 threats hampered travel plans from nearly all parts of the globe.
The MCIA only accommodated 2.4 million passengers from both domestic and international terminals from January to March this year, Megawide said.
“Airport revenues declined by 10 percent to P803 million in the first three months of 2020 as total passenger volume fell by 21 percent to 2.4 million. This is 16 percent lower for the domestic segment at 1.7 million passengers and 29 percent less for the international segment at 742,000 passengers,” the company added.
READ MORE: MCIA’s passenger traffic up by 11.3% in 2019 – report
Megawide is a privately-owned firm co-managing the MCIA. The Saavedra-led firm has reported a 24 percent and 41 percent increase in its revenue performance for 2019 and the first quarter of 2020 respectively.
2019 Performance
Meanwhile, Megawide said that MCIA’s revenue rose to 23 percent for the entire 2019 after they posted P3.7 billion worth of income, contributing 19 percent of the company’s total earnings.
They cited passenger and air traffic growth of up to 10 percent and 6 percent respectively as the core contributor to improved revenue performance.
For 2019, MCIA accommodated a total of 12.7 million passengers both from domestic and international segments, which in turn translated to passenger growth of 11 percent and nine percent respectively.
Megawide also reported an increase of six percent air traffic volume for 2019, ‘with international volume increasing by 12 percent and domestic traffic rising by 4 percent’.
“Focused marketing initiatives in 2019 resulted in increased passenger and air traffic volumes with new airlines, routes, and additional frequencies,” they said.
A total of 13 new international destinations were launched in MCIA’s Terminal 2 for 2019. These are China Southern’s Guangzhou; Juneyao Airlines’ Shanghai; Philippine AirAsia’s Macau, Kaohsiung, and Taipei; Philippine Airline PR’s Nagoya; Cebu Pacific Air’s Shanghai; Cathay Pacific’s Hong Kong; Xiamen Air’s Chengdu and Quanzhou; Silkair’s Singapore; Jeju Air’s Daegu; and Air Busan’s Incheon.
Newly launched domestic destinations in the previous year, on the other hand, were Royal Air Philippines’ Manila, Davao, Puerto Princessa, Cagayan, and Boracay; and Cebu Pacific’s Busuanga.
Airport authorities of MCIA are also gearing up for the ‘new normal’ this June 1 as Cebu is expected to transition to a general community quarantine (GCQ), and several airline carriers about to resume flights. /dbs
READ MORE: Cebu airport to build COVID-19 test laboratory