A MORE spacious departure area. Expanded check-in counters for passengers.
Five X-ray machines (instead of just two) in a centralized security check that speeds up passenger flow.
Self-service check-in kiosks to reduce standing in line.
These are some of the recent improvements noticed by passengers in the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) even as construction starts on a new international terminal or T2.
President Aquino was in Cebu on Monday for the groundbreaking of T2 and what is envisioned to be “the world’s first resort airport.”
Louie Ferrer, president of GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Inc. (GMCAC), said the new terminal will have 13 aircraft parking slots with narrow bridges, 18 aircraft parking stands served by bus transfers and a total of 104 check-in counters for both international and domestic flights.
Passengers already see improvements in Terminal 1.
In a few weeks, passengers will be able to use newly-renovated restrooms and new airport seats. Greeters of incoming travelers can also wait in an air-conditions section inside the terminal.
GMCAC took over the operation of the airport in Nov. 1 last year.
After the completion of Terminal 2 three years from now, renovations will be made in Terminal 1, which will be used exclusively for domestic flights.
Together, both terminals will be able to handle 12.5 million passengers, and expand that capacity to as many as 16 million.
“This emboldens our vision towards becoming the first resort-airport in the world,” Ferrer said.
GRM Group Chairman Grandhi Rao said the Mactan airport “will truly become a landmark, not just of Cebu City, but for the entire country.”
BACKSTORY: BIGGER AIRPORT BY 2018