More passengers used Macau International Airport in July than in any single month in its history, the airport operator says. Macau International Airport Co Ltd posted a statement on its website on Thursday saying monthly passenger throughput at the facility exceeded 740,000 for the first time in July.
The airport company said the average daily passenger throughput last month was more than 23,000, 11 percent more than a year earlier. The number of landings and takeoffs rose to more than 5,700 last month, 12 percent more than a year earlier and the most in any month yet.
The new peak in tourist numbers is significant – most gamblers in Macau’s casinos are tourists. The research suggests that tourists travelling by air are more likely to stay overnight and the casino industry regards tourists that stay the night as more valuable than day-trippers.
Of the passengers that used the Macau airport last month, 36 percent arrived or departed on flights to or from mainland China, 41 percent on flights to or from Southeast Asia and 22 percent on flights to or from Taiwan.
Macau International Airport Co says it expects the number of passengers using the airport and the number of landings and takeoffs at the facility to keep rising, and that it expects more records to be set this month since August is the peak month of the summer holiday season.
Last month Macau International Airport Co said it expected the airport to handle more than 8 million passengers this year, 12 percent more than last year and more than any other year in its history. The airport company is expanding the terminal building with a view to increasing its capacity to 10 million passengers a year.
The airport was served last month by 30 airlines, which had flights to and from 50 other places in mainland China, Taiwan, Southeast Asia or Northeast Asia.
