EDITORIAL – Another recognition for MCIA

Since the opening of its world-class Terminal 2 that caters to international flights in July last year, the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) has received a string of recognitions for having one of the best infrastructures.

In its latest survey, Sleeping in Airports named MCIA as one of the 20 best airports in Asia. Aside from MCIA, which ranked 16th, another Philippine airport, the Iloilo International Airport, also made it to the list at 18th place.

"We are glad to once again be ranked by travellers (as) among one of the best airports in Asia on Sleepinginairports.net. Our common goal, in partnership with the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority, government agencies, and airport community stakeholders, is to continuously improve and provide a positive experience to the passengers at (the) Mactan-Cebu International Airport," said GMR-MEGAWIDE Cebu Airport Corp., the airport’s operator.

Other MCIA awards included a recognition for Medium Airport of the Year in Asia-Pacific by the CAPA Center for Aviation, and the MCIA Terminal 2 being one of the winners in the Airports and Transportation Centers category of the 2019 International Architecture Awards.

With the different awards the local airport has been reaping, we can only be proud of the fact that Cebu is fast-becoming recognized as a main gateway of the country. And with the increasing international flights at the MCIA, Cebu is poised for an unprecedented economic takeoff.

Since the opening of Terminal 2, the local tourism industry has never been the same as it pushed Cebu to the top of the list of the country’s best destinations. Increased international flight frequency boosted accessibility, putting the province in the bucket list of foreign tourists.

Of course, there’s still much to be done to further improve the country’s second largest airport. One of them is the urgent establishment of the second runway, which has long been overdue, to accommodate more flights.

We’re glad that our local airport, since the establishment of the new terminal, received the attention of international aviation experts. This piece of good news only means Cebu is slowly making its presence felt as it strives to become a premier travel destination in Asia.