Mactan airport sees slight increase in passenger volume in 2024

CEBU CITY, Philippines – The country’s second busiest airport has seen a slight increase in passenger volume for 2024.

Data from the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) showed that from January to November, the airport accommodated a total of 10,201,113 passengers traveling both to domestic and international destinations.

It has also surpassed the total passenger volume recorded for the year 2023 wherein the airport accommodated a total of 10,059,361 passengers.

A huge portion of the foot traffic in the airport still came from domestic passengers, at 6,896,531. International travelers accounted for the rest, at 2,333,632.

READ: Mactan-Cebu Airport’s Terminal 2 earns Skytrax 4-star rating

Year in review

In 2024, the Aboitiz Infrastructure Capital, the infrastructure arm of the Aboitiz Group, assumed full ownership of the Aboitiz GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. (AGMCAC).

AGMCAC had planned to make MCIA as a transit hub, and started expanding commercial areas of the airport to include a mall and a hotel.

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Experts and stakeholders at the airport in Mactan are also expecting passenger volume to return to its pre-pandemic levels beginning in 2024.

In the previous year, airport officials launched new routes including Cebu to Bangkok via Don Mueang International Airport, and to Masbate and San Vicente in Palawan for domestic.

READ: MCIA launches 24/7 modern jeepney route for passengers

The airport also restarted direct flights from Cebu to Osaka, and mounted more direct connections to Incheon, Hong Kong and Narita in Japan.

Furthermore, MCIA is gunning for the Best Airport Staff award from British aviation consultancy firm Skytrax this 2025.