CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY–The management of Mactan International Airport in Cebu is bracing for an influx of passengers from Mindanao with the opening of a new passenger terminal this June.
Avigael Maningo, spokesperson for Cebu Airport Corporation that manages the facility, said they were targeting some 11.7 million passengers for this year, or an increase of 1.8 million from the 2017 figure of 9.97 million passengers.
The new terminal, constructed over a three-year period, is 65,000 square meters wide or double the size of the old one.
It will cater to 23 international airlines with destinations around the world, six of which are new: Air Juan, Juneyao Air, OK Air, Lucky Air and Pan Pacific Airlines.
For the past two years, Maningo said that passenger traffic at Mactan has consistently increased.
With the opening of Terminal 2, Maningo said they were looking at passengers from provincial hubs such as Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo and Tagoloan to fill in their target.
China, meanwhile, is the airport’s target for inbound destinations.
Maningo said more flights had opened for Beijing, Chongquing, Fuzhou, Kunming and Xian.
“We are looking to promote the Philippines to other untapped markets and this includes other provinces in China. We want to bring the high-spending Chinese market to the country,” she said. (Mark D. Francisco/PNA)
