As of October 2015 flights, passenger traffic post double-digit growth

CEBU, Philippines – Both flights and passengers coming in and out of Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) posted double-digit increases as of October 2015, official data showed.

Latest data from the government-owned MCIA Authority indicated a total of 52,169 incoming and outgoing flights, both domestic and international, were recorded as of end-October 2015, up by 10% from 47,394 in the same period in 2014.

The Mactan airport also posted a 13.4% increase in the number of passengers, both local and foreign, in the first 10 months of 2015 to 6.45 million from 5.69 million in the 2014 comparable period.

As of end-October 2015, MCIA registered a total of 41,074 outgoing and incoming domestic flights and 11,095 international flights.

So far, the highest number of international flights (1,250) was noted in the month of August when the series of some Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings started in Cebu.

In 2014, a total of 56,281 domestic and international flights were registered. Domestic flights accounted for more than 75% of the total.

In that year, passengers accommodated by Mactan airport also totaled to 6.84 million.

In an earlier interview with The FREEMAN, MCIAA General Manager Nigel Paul Villarete said the airport has experienced a "natural growth" with the addition of more flights coming in and out of Mactan.

For the last quarter of 2015, he was looking at a 10-12% growth rate in terms of aircraft and passenger traffic.

Villarete said MCIA, the country's second busiest airport, will continue to see sustained growth in terms of number of flights and passenger traffic.

The airport official also projected that more visitors are expected during the upcoming International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) to be held in Cebu later this month.

"We are looking at passenger and fight movements [for the upcoming IEC] and so we will react accordingly," he had said.

In November last year, GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. (GMCAC), a Filipino firm formed from the consortium between listed Megawide Construction Corp. and Bangalore-based GMR Infrastructure Ltd., took over the terminal operations at the Mactan airport.

GMCAC won the P17.5-billion concession to rehabilitate and manage MCIA for 25 years, including the construction of a second terminal for international passengers. (FREEMAN)