Macau airport operator CAM is keen to boost its “preighter” business and strengthen its role as one of the aviation gateways to the Greater Bay Area (GBA), Chairman of the Board of Directors Ma Iao Hang said yesterday.
Ma made the remarks in a speech during a Media Spring Luncheon hosted by the company at MGM COTAI.
A “preighter” is a passenger aircraft in which a number of seats have been removed to make space for cargo.
Ma said that CAM has worked closely with airlines to introduce the “preighter” business to Macau “and increase the density and destinations of freighter services to make up for the impact of the lack of belly cabin resources on cargo capacity as much as possible.”
Ma pointed out that the local airport still managed last year to reach a cargo volume of 33,346 tonnes, a year-on-year decrease of just 21 percent. He underlined that the airport’s number of passengers dropped by 88 percent to 1.17 million last year, while the number of touchdowns and takeoffs fell by 78 percent to 16,962.
Ma acknowledged that due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the local economy, the airport faced “unprecedented challenges” last year.
Ma also noted that the south extension of the airport’s passenger terminal building is slated to be completed by the end of this year, pointing out that by then its annual capacity will be increased to 10 million passengers.
Ma also stressed that his company will stay “proactively” engaged in the GBA conurbation development project.
The luncheon was attended by CAM’s top executives including Executive Committee Chairman Deng Jun.
Ma Iao Hang, chairman of the board of directors of CAM-Macau International Airport Company Limited, addresses yesterday’s Media Spring Luncheon at MGM COTAI.
Photo: CAM
