Two of the country’s main air gateways — Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) — showed contrasting performance in cargo volume for the first five months of 2015, according to latest data from the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) and Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA).
During the period, NAIA notched a 13% increase in air cargo handled from January to May 2015 with 225,749.62 metric tons from 199,834.39 metric tons year-on-year.
Of the total, international cargoes accounted for 64% with 144,275.68 metric tons, up 9.3% from 132,049.42 metric tons in the first five months of 2014.
Domestic cargoes, on the other hand, contributed 36% or 81,473.94 metric tons, 20.2% higher than the 67,784.97 metric tons posted last year.
Flights to the country’s main air hub increased 9.9% to 53,792 flights from 48,929 flights last year.
Passenger traffic grew, too, registering a 20.2% hike to 7.831 million passengers from 6.517 million in the same first five months last year.
Cebu volumes
Meanwhile, cargo volume handled by MCIA logged a decline in January-May 2015 owing mostly to a contraction in domestic cargoes processed. Airfreight dropped 18.9% to 20.993 million kilograms from 25.88 million kilos year-over-year.
Domestic cargoes accounted for the bulk of the total, with a 68.4% share or 14.362 million kilos, which is a 27.3% drop from 19.741 million kilos last year.
Foreign cargoes, which had a 27.3% share of the total, grew 8% to 6.631 million kilos from 6.139 million kilos last year.
Flights during the period rose 2.3% to 26,265 flights from 25,683 last year.
Passengers using the Visayan hub were 8.3% higher in number at 3.32 million from 3.065 million last year.
Construction work for the MCIA development has recently started. The air hub, envisioned to be the first resort airport in the world, will boast larger space and faster operations when the project is completed in 2019. — Roumina Pablo
