Mactan-Cebu Airport In The Philippines Named CAPA Asia Pacific Regional Airport Of The Year

This award is given to the regional airport that has been the biggest standout strategically, has established itself as a leader, and done the most to advance the progress of the aviation industry. This award is intended to recognise smaller airports with annual passenger traffic of less than 10 million. GMCAC President Louie Ferrer and GMAC CEO Advisor Andrew Harrison received the award from Mr Harbison. The judging panel selected Mactan-Cebu for its rapid growth since a successful privatisation in late 2014. The new owners, GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC), have secured several new international routes and have invested in a new terminal which will open in 2018, boosting the airport’s capacity by 12.5 million passengers per annum. “Mactan-Cebu has quickly proven to be a successful airport privatisation project, silencing sceptics and winning praise from airlines”, Mr Harbison said. “Mactan-Cebu has emerged as a leader among small to medium sized airports while GMCAC’s strategy of positioning Cebu as an alternative hub to Manila for domestic to international connections is starting to pay dividends.” CAPA noted that Mactan-Cebu had become one of the fastest-growing airports in Asia, recording 14% growth in 2015 to 7.8 million passengers. International growth has been particularly fast, with a 20% rise in 2015 and a 19% increase through the first nine months of 2016. In Mar-2016 Mactan-Cebu attracted its first long haul routes with Los Angeles (launched by Philippine Airlines) and Dubai (launched by Emirates). EVA Air and Xiamen Airlines have also launched services to Cebu this year, giving the airport 15 foreign airlines. Meanwhile Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines have both pursued rapid domestic growth at Mactan-Cebu, with several new routes and additional capacity aimed at bolstering connectivity.