Macau International Airport

Macau International Airport , situated at the eastern end of Taipa island and neighbouring waters, is the only airport in Macau, which opened for commercial operations in November 1995. Since then the airport has been a common transfer point for people traveling between mainland China and , as well as a passenger hub for destinations in China and Southeast Asia. During 2006, the airport handled 5 million passengers and 220,000 tonnes of cargo.

As in Hong Kong, Macau has its own immigration policies and is a separate customs territory from mainland China. Travellers between Macau and mainland China need to go through immigration and customs checks. Flights between Macau and mainland China are therefore treated as international flights.

History

The airport was opened in November 1995, during Portuguese rule. Before then the territory only had 2 temporary airports for small aeroplanes, in addition to several permanent heliports. Cathay Pacific operated seaplane service between Hong Kong and Macau in the late 1940s. The only air services Macau had in the 1990s were helicopter services operated by East Asia Airlines to Hong Kong.

Facilities in Macau:

* Seaplane hangar on Taipa Island
* Macau Naval Aviation Centre in the Outer Harbour - southeast side of the mainland
* Temporary airstrip on Coloane
* Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Pier, Macau heliport

Facilities

The airport's runway was built on a strip of reclaimed land in the sea, adjacent to Taipa Island, where the main terminal and air traffic control facilities are located. The runway is connected to the apron by two causeways. Runway 34 is CAT II equipped.


The airport's designed capacity is 6,000,000 passengers per year, with processing capacity of up to 2,000 passengers per hour. The airport does not have a night curfew. There are 24 parking spaces for aircraft in the apron, with 4 jetways.

Despite its small physical size, the airport is capable of handling Boeing 747s, which forms a vital freight link between local manufacturers and overseas markets. Its catering facility can produce up to 10,000 meals per day.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines serve Macau International Airport:

*AirAsia
**Thai AirAsia
*Air Macau
*Bangkok Airways
*Cebu Pacific
*China Eastern Airlines
*East Star Airlines
*EVA Air
*Jetstar Asia Airways
*Malaysia Airlines
*Philippine Airlines
*Shanghai Airlines
*Spirit of Manila
*Tiger Airways
*TransAsia Airways
*Viva Macau
*Xiamen Airlines

Cargo airlines

The following cargo airlines serve Macau International Airport :

*Air Macau
*EVA Air Cargo
*Shanghai Airlines Cargo
*Singapore Airlines Cargo

Terminated services

The following airlines previously served Macau International Airport:

*Asiana Airlines
*Hainan Airlines
*Korean Air
*SilkAir
*Singapore Airlines
*TAP Portugal
*Viva Macau