Air Macau has been granted a fresh commercial air passenger transport licence valid for 20 years, running from 1 February to 31 January 2046, the Macao SAR Government announced in yesterday’s Boletim Oficial.
The new licence is granted under the recently established Civil Aviation Activities Law, also scheduled to take effect on 1 February, ending Air Macau’s decades-long exclusive concession to operate commercial air transport services out of the SAR.
Commercial air passenger transport rights will now be granted through licences rather than under a monopoly. The airline’s original 25-year monopoly, secured in 1995, was due to expire in 2020 but was extended for three years following the Covid-19 pandemic.
[See more: Macao’s airport battles headwinds with strong international route growth in 2025]
As part of its continued operating requirements, the carrier must adhere to five-year business plans that have been approved by the Chief Executive.
While Macao’s visitor numbers have increased annually since the pandemic, reaching a historic high of over 40 million in 2025, air passenger traffic growth has shown a slight slowdown.
In 2025, visitor arrivals by air stood at 3,049,672 – just 7.6 percent of total and a decline of 0.5 percent year on year.
