The local airport expects 10.35 million passengers this year, which would be an increase of about 8 per cent from last year, Macau International Airport Company Chairman Ma Iao Hang said on Tuesday.
Ma pointed out that the airport received a record number of passengers at 9.6 million last year, a year-on-year growth of 16 per cent. He also forecast 81,000 take-offs and touch-downs for this year, an increase of 5 per cent from last year, as well as a cargo throughput of 43,500 tonnes, a year-on-year growth of 3 per cent.
Ma also predicted that the number of business jet movements (takeoffs and touchdowns) will increase 2 per cent to 2,823 this year.
Ma made the forecasts during a Spring Festival dinner for the media at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Nape. He pointed out that the airport will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its “safe and efficient operation” this year.
In his speech, Ma also pointed out that there are currently 34 airlines connecting the airport to 59 destinations on the mainland and Taiwan as well as a raft of foreign countries in Southeast and Northeast Asia.
According to the Macau Post Daily, Ma also underlined that the airport last year still managed to increase its cargo throughput by 1.72 per cent to 42,218 tonnes despite the Sino-US trade spat. However, he pointed out that the operation of business jets dropped 15 per cent to 2,768 takeoffs and touchdowns last year. He said this was in line with the sector’s negative growth globally in 2019.
According to Ma, the airport’s overall revenue is estimated to have reached 6.2 billion patacas, up 12 per cent year-on-year.
