Gov. Gwen Garcia has assured the new operations and management team of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) of her continued support, as Aboitiz InfraCapital (AIC) comes into the picture.
This was the governor’s message as she received in her office the new chief executive officer of MCIA, Athanasios Titonis, along with other MCIA officials on Monday, May 13.
Back in 2022, AIC struck deal with Megawide Construction Corporation (Megawide) and GMR Airports International to acquire shares in GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC), thereby allowing them to jointly operate and manage the award-winning MCIA, the country’s second busiest gateway, together with GMR group and Megawide group.
Gov. Garcia expressed her hopes that with the new management team in place, MCIA will soar to even greater heights through increased international and domestic connectivity.
On this note, she invited Titonis to join her working trip to Russia in June, where she would renew Cebu’s sisterhood ties with St. Petersburg. The governor brought up the possibility of establishing a direct air link between St. Petersburg, Russia’s second largest city, and Cebu.
Gov. Garcia said MCIA officials can meet with their counterparts in Russia as well as the country’s national flag carrier Aeroflot, and explore the possibility of realizing this direct connection.
Titonis welcomed the governor’s invitation, saying that this is an opportunity for the airport to sell Cebu to Russia.
In fact, based on the presentation made by Titonis during the meeting, Russia, along with India, is one of the potential markets MCIA is eyeing in terms of establishing direct flights.
Gov. Garcia said if MCIA can make this “breakthrough” of establishing a Cebu–Russia connection, other global carriers will follow suit in putting up direct long-haul flights from Cebu to as far as Europe.
Furthermore, Gov. Garcia also urged the airport management to seriously look into the possibility of working with airline companies in offering commercial flights between MCIA and two of Cebu’s most sought-after island destinations – Bantayan and Camotes.
She told MCIA officials that the airports of these two islands have now been upgraded with their runways planned for expansion to allow commercial aircrafts to land and take off from there.
The governor also suggested that MCIA also do something that would add to the passengers’ airport experience like putting up flowers inside the terminal.
She said global airports like Singapore’s Changi Airport have done this which significantly makes the experience of passengers better. In response, Titonis thanked the governor for her inputs, which they would surely take into consideration.
Gov. Garcia asserted that Cebu’s airport has many advantages over those in Manila in terms of advancement and potential for further expansion, considering its accessibility to the rest of the country.
Gov. Garcia, by virtue of office, sits at the Board of Directors of the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority, which is chaired and vice chaired by Department of Transportation Sec. Jaime Bautista and Department of Tourism Sec. Christina Garcia-Frasco respectively.
MCIAA is the policy-making body for the MCIA. | CL