Cebu, Philippines – GMR MEGAWIDE Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC), together with the Philippine Department of Tourism and the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority, welcomed the inaugural flight of Xiamen Air (MF) from Chengdu to Cebu last June 27, 2019.
“We are glad to welcome Xiamen Air’s newest direct service to Chengdu, one of China’s busiest and economically-robust cities. Through this partnership with Xiamen Air, we aim to achieve a common goal which is to increase connectivity between Cebu to international destinations,” said Louie Ferrer, GMCAC president.
GMCAC is the private developer managing the terminal operations and other related areas of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport.
Xiamen Air will service the Cebu-Chengdu route thrice weekly every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday using a Boeing 737-800 with eight seats in Business class and 161 seats in Economy class.
MF flight 8683 will depart from Chengdu to Cebu at 0630H; while the return flight MF8684 will depart from Cebu to Chengdu at 1910H.
A water cannon salute welcomed the first flight from Chengdu and its 169 passengers at 10:45 a.m.
This is the first time that Cebu will have regular flights to Chengdu. Previously, Chengdu to Cebu was only available during the Chinese peak travel season only.
“The launching of the Chengdu service is in line with Xiamen Air’s plan to open more routes between the Philippines and China, specially in Cebu and Chengdu as these two major cities have huge tourist markets and are internationally known for its tourism destinations and upbeat economic activities,” said Bruce Gong, Xiamen Air Cebu station manager.
Xiamen Air also operates regular thrice weekly flights to Xiamen and Fuzhou.
“With the opening of this new service, Filipinos will have more reasons to visit and slowly discover the diverse culture and interesting destinations in China,” said Ravishankar Saravu, GMCAC Chief Commercial Advisor.
Aside from Chengdu, MCIA is connected to other key destinations in China namely, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Fuzhou, Kunming, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Xiamen.
ABOUT THE MACTAN-CEBU INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
The Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) is the second busiest airport in the Philippines and has been dubbed the World’s Friendliest Resort Airport.
It has been recognized as one of the best airports in Asia by the CAPA – Center for Aviation and was awarded the Asia Pacific Medium Airport of the Year and Asia Pacific Small Airport of the Year in 2018 and 2016, respectively.
MCIA is managed by the joint venture company GMR MEGAWIDE Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC), comprised of Filipino engineering and infrastructure company Megawide and Indian infrastructure developer GMR.
In November 2014, GMCAC took over the development of all landside facilities of the MCIA under a 25-year Public-Private Partnership concession agreement which includes the management and operation of MCIA’s two terminals and any necessary expansions to these facilities to ensure that MCIA can meet the demand of its steadily growing passenger traffic.
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