MCIA welcomed 1.3 million passengers in 2021
The departure area of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) Terminal 2. | CDN Digital Photo / Morexette Marie Erram
CEBU CITY, Philippines – The country’s second-busiest gateway welcomed fewer passengers in 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic dragged on, latest statistics showed.
The Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) only accommodated 1,331,531 passengers, both domestic and international, in the previous year.
Domestic travelers still account for majority of the passenger traffic in MCIA at 1,163,960. Only 167,571 came from international flights.
The Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) reported a 52 percent dip in passenger traffic compared to the 2,748,633 travelers recorded in 2020, when the pandemic was at its height.
Passenger volume in MCIA only rebounded during the fourth quarter of 2021, when the airport accommodated a total of 573,293 passengers from October to December.
Aside from foot traffic, air traffic in MCIA also suffered in 2021, with airport authorities recording a 40 percent decline in aircraft movements.
From 29,548 in 2020, the airport only accommodated a total of 17,797 flights in 2021. The bulk of the numbers pertain to domestic flights, too.
Meanwhile, cargo traffic in MCIA continues to increase.
The same report stated that for 2021, the volume of cargo processed reached 55.1 million kilograms, up by 26 percent compared to the 43.6 million kilograms posted in 2020.
MCIA is the second busiest airport in the Philippines, next to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Metro Manila.
As of this writing, airport authorities in Mactan have started to accept foreign tourists from at least 157 countries as the Philippines reopened its borders to fully vaccinated travelers.
MCIA will also be accepting unvaccinated travelers. However, they will be subject to several conditions such as a mandatory, facility-based quarantine and at least two rounds of swab tests.
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