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Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) have posted year-on-year growth in cargo volumes in the first eight months of 2022
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Cargo throughout at NAIA grew 4.6% while volumes at MCIA increased 1.6%
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Flights at NAIA increased 148.5% but were surpassed by MCIA’s 202.2% growth
Cargo volumes handled by the country’s busiest gateways, Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA), rose single-digit during the first eight months of 2022.
From January to August, NAIA registered 387,912.71 metric tons of cargo, up 4.6% from 370,749.26MT year-on-year, based on data from the Manila International Airport Authority website.
International cargo accounted for 69% of the total while the rest was domestic cargo.
International cargo at NAIA grew slightly to 268,575.98MT, 0.6% higher than 267,104.75MT in the previous year. Domestic cargo also rose 15% to 119,336.73MT from 103,644.51MT.
Meanwhile, cargo volumes at MCIA rose 1.6% to 36.61 million kilograms in the first eight months of this year from 36.035 million kg in the same period last year, according to data from the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority.
Domestic cargo at MCIA made up 54% of the total while the rest was international cargo.
Domestic cargo declined 1.6% to 19.717 million kg from 20.047 million kg. International cargoes, meanwhile, improved 6% to 16.891 million MT from 15.988 million MT.
In terms of flights, NAIA handled 133,368 flights in January to August 2022, a surge of 148.5% from 53,668 flights recorded in the same period last year.
International flights increased 69% to 36,856 from 21,841, while domestic flights grew a whopping 203% to 96,512 from 31,827 previously.
MCIA flights for the first eight months of 2022 climbed 202.2% to 31,182 from 10,317 in the same period last year. International flights grew 112% to 3,612 from 1,707.
Domestic flights recorded the biggest increase of 220.2% to 27,570 from 8,610 flights previously.
GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corp., operator of the airport, had said earlier that domestic flights at MCIA had already returned to 70% of their 2019 pre-pandemic levels, while international traffic had increased since May and should recover to pre-pandemic levels by end of the second quarter of 2023.
Carriers have also been ramping up their domestic and international flights as local and international travel restrictions have been eased since last year. – Roumina Pablo
