Macau International Airport Corporation Limited (CAM) has revealed that local airline Air Macau will introduce its first wide-body aircraft in March in order to enhance its operational capacity on medium- and long-haul routes.
The addition of larger aircraft comes as CAM gears up for the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday period, when it expects to add around 80 additional inbound flights between 10 and 14 February, taking the total amount of flights to and from Macau over the five-day holiday period to 860 – an increase of 110% compared to the same period in 2023 and back to 77% of the same period in 2019.
CAM also expects nearly 24,000 passengers to travel through MIA each day during the peak period of the five-day holiday.
There are currently 26 airlines operating out of Macau International Airport, with routes covering 23 destinations in mainland China, three destinations in Taiwan and 17 international destinations. The passenger market distribution is 46% from mainland China, 16% from Taiwan and 38% from international markets.
CAM said that in order to enhance the airlines’ ability to operate medium- and long-haul routes, it plans to invest more resources into creating additional incentives for the airlines to operate international and medium- and long-haul direct routes, respectively. As such, Air Macau plans to introduce its two wide-body aircraft in March to complement the SAR government’s development of Macau’s aviation industry.
Air Macau previously introduced its first wide-body aircraft, the A300-600R wide-body aircraft, on 13 June 2006 covering the Taipei-Macau-Shanghai route. However, in 2007 this aircraft was converted into a freighter.
Meanwhile, Macau international Airport will welcome two new airline partners in the first quarter of this year: China Southern Airlines and AirAsia Cambodia. China Southern plans to operate flights from Istanbul and Moscow to Beijing Daxing for transit to Macau, with direct baggage connections, while Air Asia Cambodia plans to operate a daily round-trip service between Phnom Penh and Macau.
Korean Air plans to operate a daily round-trip flight between Seoul and Macau using wide-body aircraft, providing more travel options for international travelers.
