Macau Airport Saw 30% Boost in August Daily Flights

Macau International Airport handled more flights in August compared to the previous month, a report released today by media outlet GGRAsia informed. The airport saw on average 8 flights per day, a 30% increase, mainly due to the expanded number of mainland China destinations.

According to the information provided by Macau International Airport Company Ltd, flights on an aggregate of 15 destinations across mainland China, Taiwan, Northeast and Southeast Asia were available. Regarding mainland China, August saw Tianjin, Chengzhou and Chengdu being added to the roster, next to already present in July Xiamen, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanning, and Beijing.

During August, the airport locally known as CAM also served flight connecting to Taipei in Taiwan, Tokyo and Osaka in Japan, Incheon in South Korea, Phnom Penh in Cambodia, Manila in the Philippines and Hanoi in Vietnam.

September Expectations

CAM announced its September expectations are much similar to the August tally of flights, and judging by the airline applications made so far, the airport will probably increase the number of daily served flights to 10. The airport operator warned, however, the outlook for September may change depending on changes in travel policies involving the Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China and the final flight arrangements each airline decides.

Air Macau, the airline traditionally serving destinations on mainland China, announced Thursday it would expand its flights serving Shanghai and Beijing, and would add new destinations during the month, Taiyuan, Qingdao, Ningbom Wenzhou, Guiyang and Chongqing.

Travel Restrictions

The other factor influencing the number of flights is the imposed travel restrictions related to the ongoing health concerns stemming from the coronavirus global outbreak. Macau is not subjecting any resident of mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan to the 14-day quarantine requirement, provided that they have stayed for 14 days on mainland China prior to arrival to the SAR.

These travelers will have to present a test certificate showing they have tested negative for COVID-19, and the medical document must be issued no later than 7 days prior to their arrival. Any inbound passenger who has been within the 14 days prior to Hong Kong or Taiwan, however, is still subjected to 14 days of quarantine.

Inbound traffic for holders of foreign passports, excluding Macau ID holders, is still under an entry ban, and the limitation applies even if a visitor has spent the prior 14 days on mainland China.

The Macau International Airport reported in July an 80% drop in the number of passengers for the first half of 2020, 939,968, compared to more than 4.7 million for the first half of 2019, mainly due to the travel restrictions related to the coronavirus infection.