Mactan-Cebu International Airport
Encyclopedia
Mactan-Cebu International Airport (Filipino
Filipino language
This move has drawn much criticism from other regional groups.In 1987, a new constitution introduced many provisions for the language.Article XIV, Section 6, omits any mention of Tagalog as the basis for Filipino, and states that:...

: Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Mactan-Cebu, Cebuano
Cebuano language
Cebuano, referred to by most of its speakers as Bisaya , is an Austronesian language spoken in the Philippines by about 20 million people mostly in the Central Visayas. It is the most widely spoken of the languages within the so-named Bisayan subgroup and is closely related to other Filipino...

: Tugpahanang Pangkalibutanon sa Mactan-Sugbo) is a major international airport in the Visayas
Visayas
The Visayas or Visayan Islands and locally known as Kabisay-an gid, is one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Mindanao and Luzon. It consists of several islands, primarily surrounding the Visayan Sea, although the Visayas are considered the northeast...

 region of the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. It is located in Lapu-Lapu City
Lapu-Lapu City
The City of Lapu-Lapu is a first class highly urbanized city in the province of Cebu in the Philippines. The city occupies most of Mactan Island, a few kilometer off the main island of Cebu and also covers the Olango Island Group further to the southeast, plus a few other islets. It is part of the...

, Mactan Island
Mactan Island
Mactan is an island located a few kilometres from Cebu Island in the Philippines. The island is part of Cebu Province and it is divided into Lapu-Lapu City and the municipality of Cordova...

, Metro Cebu
Metro Cebu
Metro Cebu is the main urban center of the province of Cebu in the Philippines. Metro Cebu is located along the central eastern portion of the island including the nearby island of Mactan...

 and is the country's second primary gateway. The airport is managed by the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority.

The airport property covers an area of 797 hectares. The airport has a single 3,300 meter runway that is complimented by a full-length taxiway. The terminal building has a capacity of handling 4.5 million passengers annually on two wings, the domestic wing and the international wing.

Mactan-Cebu International Airport is a major trade center in the south for both domestic and international traffic. Its traffic is continually increasing and is now serving 602 commercial flights weekly transporting 10,223 passengers daily.

About 54% of the flight operations at Mactan-Cebu International Airport are commercial carriers while the remaining 46% are military aircraft and general aviation operations.

Over the last fifteen (15) years, Mactan-Cebu International Airport’s passenger traffic has grown at an annual average of 21% for International while the domestic grew at an annual average of 5%. Mactan-Cebu International Airport is currently served by thirteen (13) passenger airlines and five (5) cargo airlines.

Mactan-Cebu International Airport is one of the major cargo airports in the Philippines. Air cargo volume in 2007 is 53,472,924 kg. International cargo volume increased at an average growth rate of 47% annually while the domestic cargo grew 4% annually.

The airport handled 5.79 million passengers on both domestic and international routes in 2010.

Future plans

Plans have been drawn for the expansion of the existing terminal building and the construction of two more boarding bridges or jetways to complement the existing four. A new cargo terminal has also been proposed.

On August 20, 2008, the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) announced that about P300 million will be spent for the terminal expansion program to address the increasing volume of passenger traffic. MCIAA former general manager Danilo Augusto Francia said the program also includes the establishment of a second passenger terminal in the Mactan-Cebu International Airport.

Later in 2009, former general manager Francia announced for the public bidding for the construction of the new generation terminal to service only international flight to and from Cebu, Philippines. Three out of the only seven 5-star airlines in the world operate flights from the airport, namely: Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main hub located at Hong Kong International Airport, although the airline's registered office is on the 33rd floor of One Pacific Place...

, Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. , operating as Qatar Airways, is the flag carrier of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, it operates a hub-and-spoke network, linking over 100 international destinations from its base in Doha, using a fleet of over 100 aircraft...

, and Asiana Airlines
Asiana Airlines
Asiana Airlines Inc. is one of South Korea's two major airlines, along with Korean Air. Asiana has its headquarters in Asiana Town in Osoe-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul...

.

In 2010, the newly elected Philippine President, Benigno Aquino III
Benigno Aquino III
Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III , also known as Noynoy Aquino or PNoy, is a Filipino politician who has been the 15th and current President of the Philippines since June 2010....

, has selected Nigel Paul Villarete
Nigel Paul Villarete
Nigel Paul C. Villarete is a Filipino civil engineer and urban planner. He is currently the General Manager of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport , located in Mactan Island, Lapu-lapu City, Cebu, Philippines, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority...

 as the new General Manager of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport(MCIA) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MCIAA. Upon his assumption on October 26, 2010, MCIAA General Manager Villarete has prioritized the completion of the terminal expansion and the completion of the unfinished administration building. In addition, the Feasibility Study for the New MCIA International Terminal will be completed in 2011, and has been included in President Benigno Aquino III
Benigno Aquino III
Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III , also known as Noynoy Aquino or PNoy, is a Filipino politician who has been the 15th and current President of the Philippines since June 2010....

's List of Priority Projects for Public-Private Partnership (PPP) implementation. The feasibility study is being financed by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA)
Korea International Cooperation Agency
The Korea International Cooperation Agency was established on April 1, 1991, by the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.-KOICA:...

.

In addition, MCIAA General Manager Nigel Paul Villarete
Nigel Paul Villarete
Nigel Paul C. Villarete is a Filipino civil engineer and urban planner. He is currently the General Manager of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport , located in Mactan Island, Lapu-lapu City, Cebu, Philippines, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority...

 also proposes to establish a Bus Rapid Transit
Bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...

 (BRT) line to transport airport passengers to and from MCIAA from different parts of Cebu. This will complement and maybe integrated into the proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) System
Cebu Bus Rapid Transit System
The Cebu Bus Rapid Transit System is a proposed mass transit system for the City of Cebu located within the greater Cebu Metropolitan area. It is expected to become the first operational Bus Rapid Transit project in the Philippines...

 being planned in Cebu City
Cebu City
The City of Cebu is the capital city of Cebu and is the second largest city in the Philippines, the second most significant metropolitan centre in the Philippines and known as the oldest settlement established by the Spaniards in the country.The city is located on the eastern shore of Cebu and was...

.

History

The airport opened in the mid-1960s. It was built to replace the Lahug Airport, which could no longer be expanded due to safety and physical problems. The airport was then expanded in its later years to become the current Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA). The airport is currently the second busiest in the country after Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport
Ninoy Aquino International Airport
The Ninoy Aquino International Airport or NAIA , also known as Manila International Airport , is the airport serving the general area of Manila and its surrounding metropolitan area...

 and serves as the country's primary alternative gateway.

The airport is currently in the process of building an administrative building. The construction is currently stalled due to irregularities in the deal but it is expected to continue soon. The idea behind the building is to free up space in the airport terminal so that the airport can expand passenger facilities without necessarily expanding the size of the airport. Currently, all airport offices are located inside the Main Terminal.

A VIP
Very Important Person
A Very Important Person, or VIP is a person who is accorded special privileges due to his or her status or importance.Examples include celebrities, heads of state/heads of government, major employers, high rollers, politicians, high-level corporate officers, wealthy individuals, or any other...

 Lounge for the ASEAN Summit
ASEAN Summit
The ASEAN Summit is an annual meeting held by the member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in relation to economic, and cultural development of Southeast Asian countries....

 held in Cebu in 2007. The airport lounge now serves as the primary welcome area for VIPs visiting Cebu.

Terminals, airlines and destinations


Notes:: Although most of Silk Air's flights to Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 stop in Davao
Davao
Davao refers to several closely related places in Mindanao in the Philippines. The term is used most often to refer to the city.*Davao Region, an administrative region*Davao del Norte province*Davao del Sur province*Davao Oriental province...

, Silk Air has no rights to transport passengers between Cebu and Davao.

Cargo airlines

  • 2GO
  • FedEx Express
  • Pacific East Asia Cargo Airlines
    Pacific East Asia Cargo Airlines
    Pacific East Asia Cargo Airlines, Inc. is a cargo airline based in the Philippines. The carrier serves domestic services from the Philippines with their Boeing 727-100 and 727-200 Freighter aircraft. The airline also has an agreement on selected routes flown by Air Philippines...

  • Tri-MG Intra Asia Airlines
    Tri-MG Intra Asia Airlines
    Tri-MG Intra Asia Airlines is an airline based in Jakarta, Indonesia. The company bought the Let L-410 aircraft because Tri MG is expanding into passenger operations. They operate their Boeing 727 on a regular schedule to Singapore Changi Airport....

  • TransGlobal Airways
    TransGlobal Airways
    TransGlobal Airways is a cargo airline based in Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, Philippines. The airline flies from Angeles-Clark to China and Taiwan and to key points in the Philippines. The Airline has also expressed their intentions to fly passenger flights to South Korea with a fleet...


Incidents/Accidents

On December 11, 1994, Philippine Airlines Flight 434
Philippine Airlines Flight 434
Philippine Airlines Flight 434 was the route designator of a flight from Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Pasay City, the Philippines, to New Tokyo International Airport , Narita near Tokyo, Japan, with one stop at Mactan-Cebu International Airport, Cebu, the Philippines.On December 11, 1994...

 was flying on its second leg of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport
Ninoy Aquino International Airport
The Ninoy Aquino International Airport or NAIA , also known as Manila International Airport , is the airport serving the general area of Manila and its surrounding metropolitan area...

 - Mactan-Cebu International Airport - New Tokyo International Airport (now Narita International Airport
Narita International Airport
is an international airport serving the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is located east of Tokyo Station and east-southeast of Narita Station in the city of Narita, and the adjacent town of Shibayama....

) route when a bomb on board exploded, killing a passenger. The airliner was able to make an emergency landing.
Authorities later found out that Ramzi Yousef
Ramzi Yousef
Ramzi Yousef was one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and a co-conspirator in the Bojinka plot. In 1995, he was arrested at a guest house in Islamabad, by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence and United States Diplomatic Security Service, then extradited to the...

 planted the bomb on the airliner to test the bomb for his Project Bojinka plot. His project was discovered in Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

after an apartment fire on the night of January 5 and the morning of January 6, 1995.

Ramzi Yousef was on board Flight 434 from Manila when he planted the bomb beneath a vacant seat. He used a fake identity thus he was able to pass through security in Manila. Yousef set the time for the bomb to blow off when the airplane was already in its Cebu-Tokyo leg. Yousef got off the plane during the stopover in Cebu from Manila.

External links




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