Macau International Airport is an international airport in the special administrative region of Macau, situated at the eastern end of Taipa island and neighbouring waters. It opened for commercial operations on 9 November 1995, during Portuguese administration of the region.

Since its opening, the airport has been a common transfer point for people traveling between mainland China and Taiwan, as well as a passenger hub for destinations in mainland China and Southeast Asia. During 2006, the airport handled 5 million passengers and of cargo. In 2017 the number of passengers had increased to 7,165,803, which is more than the 6 million passengers per year the terminal was originally designed for.

History Before the opening of Macau airport, the nearest international airport was Kai Tak in British Hong Kong and passengers from Macau had to take a ferry to Hong Kong in order to fly out of Kai Tak. Upon planning, Macau airport was said that it would relieve the congestion at Kai Tak. The Macau airport was constructed on reclaimed land adjacent to the islands of Taipa and Coloane. It cost US$1 billion to build. Commercial air service began on 9 November 1995. The first departure was an Air Macau flight to Beijing, and the first arrival was a Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur. The official inauguration ceremony took place on 8 December 1995, and Portuguese president Mário Soares presided over it.

In April 1996, TAP Air Portugal started service to Lisbon using Airbus A340s. It cooperated with Sabena on the route; the flight stopped in Brussels, and TAP allocated a certain number of seats to the airline on the segment between Brussels and Macau. TAP encountered difficulties in running the flights. The crew had to spend long layovers in Macau because the service operated only twice a week. Additionally, TAP and Air Macau, in which the former held a stake, were unable to coordinate their schedules, making connections between the Lisbon flight and Air Macau's network inconvenient. In April 1997, TAP moved the stopover to Bangkok in hopes of attracting more passengers. Nevertheless, it was losing money on the route. The company's chairman stated in November 1997 that he wanted to end the link but that he faced opposition from the Portuguese government, which owned the airline. TAP stopped serving Macau the following year.

Facilities

Terminal The airport's designed capacity is 10,000,000 passengers per year, with processing capacity of up to 2,300 passengers per hour.

Redevelopment

Since 2016, Macau's government has been developing a master plan for the airport's expansion. To be done in three phases, the most visible sections of it broke ground in 2020. In 2025 this plan started and is scheduled to be completed in around 2030.

Airlines and destinations Passenger

Cargo

Statistics

Annual traffic YearPassengersAirfreight (kg)Aircraft operations20124,491,06527,794,488 41,997 20135,027,05926,464,88148,950 20145,481,44128,767,40752,559 20155,831,45930,058,27755,72020166,628,55532,891,45256,93220177,165,80337,499,00058,52020188,261,41241,508,95565,777201942,219,79920201,173,23133,346,67716,96220211,147,01548,595,30715,7912022599,18551,400,66213,64220235,151,08063,809,78542,50420247,641,495108,105,20959,95820257,521,344109,292,37658,196

Ground transportation

The airport is connected by public transit bus routes, light rail, taxis, private cars, and regional coach services.

Air–sea link For passengers transferring to mainland China or Hong Kong, a "two customs, one checkpoint" service is provided. Passengers can use a bus shuttle directly from the airport to the New Macau Ferry Terminal or the Taipa Ferry Terminal without passing Macau immigration.

Bus Towards Macau Peninsula, Taipa, Cotai and Coloane Transmac routes: 26 – Bacia Norte do Patane ↔ Mercado Municipal de Coloane 51A – The Praia ↔ Av. Vale das Borboletas 51B - Av. Vale das Borboletas ↺ Portas do Cerco AP1 – Portas do Cerco ↺ Aeroporto de Macau MT4 – Parque M. Dr. Sun Yat Sen ↔ Terminal Marítimo de Passageiros da Taipa T.C.M. routes: N2 – Bacia Norte do Patane ↔ Terminal Marítimo de Passageiros da Taipa (00:00–06:00) 36 – Rotunda Leonel Sousa ↺ Aeroporto de Macau MT1 – Praceta 24 de Junho ↺ Aeroporto de Macau

Cross-border coaches Cross-border coaches connect Macau International Airport with mainland locations like Huadu, Guangzhou, Panyu, Dongguan, Gongbei Port of Entry and Hengqin Border. The "two customs, one checkpoint" service is also available at the Hengqin Border.

Light rail

The airport is served by the Airport Station of the Macau Light Rail Transit's Taipa Line at Avenida Wai Long.

See also Civil Aviation Authority of Macau SAR

References

External links

Accident history for MFM at Aviation Safety Network