Cebu airport eyes more domestic flights with T1 facelift

FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte leads the unveiling of the marker of the newly-renovated Mactan-Cebu International Airport Terminal 1 in Lapu-Lapu City on January 19, 2020. KARL NORMAN ALONZO/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

CEBU CITY – With the complete renovation of its Terminal 1, the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) is confident of opening more domestic flights.

Louie Ferrer, president of GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation, said the unveiling of the commemorative marker led by President Rodrigo Duterte during the Sinulog last Sunday signaled the completion of full renovation of the domestic terminal.

“With the complete renovation of Terminal 1, we can now focus on opening more domestic flights via Cebu,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.

The PHP1.8-billion renovation started after the opening of the new MCIA international terminal (Terminal 2) in July 2018. It was completed in August 2019, he said.

Prior to the full-scale renovation, GMCAC had implemented several initial improvements to Terminal 1 to address urgent issues such as congestion and the effort to boost operational efficiency.

Terminal 1 was originally built for just 4.5 million passengers per annum (mppa) but the airport was handling 6.9 mppa in 2014. GMCAC took over the management of the airport on Nov. 1, 2014.

“MCIA’s domestic flight frequencies have increased by 82 percent, and this is just in our first five years. Our medium-term objective is to establish Cebu as the hub for flights to the Philippines, particularly to Visayas and Mindanao, by maximizing our strategic central location and infrastructure,” he said.

Ferrer attributed MCIA’s growth these past few years to the efforts of the airport’s stakeholders, highlighting the airport’s capability to serve more than 50 million passengers which doubled the annual passenger traffic since November 2014.

Lawyer Steve Dicdican, general manager of Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA), underscored the strong partnership between the public and the private sector as factor in the prominent progress of the airport.

“The success and milestones that MCIA has achieved in the past years are a testimony of a successful collaboration between the government and the private sector in delivering a world-class service and a passenger-centric airport,” Dicdican said, noting that another milestone to be completed is the parallel taxiway or second runway to address the growing needs of the airport.

He said the full renovation of the domestic terminal can make the airport to handle 11.7 mppa with an increased floor area from approximately 38,000 square meters to about 45,000 square meters.

The renovated Terminal 1 features an expanded pre-departure area that can accommodate more vehicle drop-offs. It is open to natural light and features wooden details as befitting MCIA’s resort-airport positioning, the statement from GMCAC said.

Flight information displays are already installed throughout the area, it said.

The pre-departure area is now connected to the new Airport Village, a commercial area where passengers and their well-wishers can enjoy refreshments while waiting for flights.

It also said that among the new technologies to increase efficiency in Terminal 1 are four Automatic Tray Retrieval System (ATRS) machines located at the final security check area.

Boarding gates 9, 10, 11, and 26 were also renovated and now have a more spacious area and more seats for the passengers and situated near the new Food Avenue, a food hall where passengers can relax and enjoy local and international food and drink selections.

The comfort rooms and baby care room have also been redesigned with passenger comfort and convenience in mind. The Plaza Premium Lounge, which is also in Terminal 1, offers 24-hour lounge services to passengers, the statement said.