Macau International Airport Co. Ltd (known by its Portuguese initials CAM) is planning to introduce new direct flights to Jeju Island in South Korea and Phu Quoc Island in southern Vietnam.
Discussions with airlines are underway to launch the Jeju route in May, with Phu Quoc flights expected later in the year, according to a report in Macau Post Daily. This expansion aims to build on a strong recovery in passenger numbers and further connect the SAR with popular regional destinations.
Last year, the airport saw 7.64 million passengers, a 48.3 percent increase year-on-year, bringing it to about 80 percent of pre-pandemic levels. Flight movements also rose by 41.1 percent to over 59,900. For this year, CAM aims to reach 8.5 million passengers and 65,000 flight movements.
First-quarter figures show 1.85 million passengers and over 14,000 flight movements, representing increases of 3 percent and 1.5 percent respectively.
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While first-quarter growth has been steady, CAM anticipates increased activity in the second and third quarters with the introduction of new flights. “We’ll have another assessment after the second season to see if we can actually grow all the way to our projected 8.5 million passengers this year,” said Eric Fong Hio Kin, CAM’s market department director, in remarks cited by Macau Post Daily.
Flights to and from South Korea maintain an 80 percent passenger load factor, and plans are in place to resume flights to Cheongju in central South Korea after Easter or before the summer holidays. Additionally, CAM’s 2025 development plan includes opening service centres in Shenzhen’s Shekou harbour, Zhongshan’s Zhongshangang subdistrict and Zhuhai in the second half of this year.
International passengers in January reached 100,000, an 8 percent year-on-year increase, with mainland China, Taiwan, and Southeast and Northeast Asia accounting for 46 percent, 17 percent, and 37 percent of the total traffic, respectively.
The airport currently serves 26 airlines, offering 43 domestic and international routes with over 1,200 weekly flights. These connect Macao to 24 cities in mainland China, three in Taiwan, and 16 in Southeast and Northeast Asia, among other regions.
The first draft of this story was edited by AI for clarity and conciseness, then manually checked by an editor.
