Macau, China, Oct. 9, 2024 (Lusa) - Macau's airport management company said on Wednesday that it is ‘actively working’ with airlines to launch more flights from the Chinese semi-autonomous region with connections to Europe and the United States.
In a statement, CAM - the Macau International Airport Company said that the aim is to provide "a single-ticket service through baggage dispatch" in order to "attract more international tourists".
The company also said it is planning to launch air routes to Laos by the end of the year and promised to continue expanding the aviation market in Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia.
In the first eight months of 2024, Macau received almost 23.4 million tourists. However, the overwhelming majority came from China or Hong Kong, while the city received 1.5 million international visitors.
On 26 August, the Macau Government Tourism Office (DST) launched a prize draw for 100 travel packages, including airline tickets and hotel accommodation, for international tourists who take part in an online inquiry, until 17 October.
At the time, the director of the DST, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, said that she hoped Macau would receive more than three million international visitors by 2025.
On 11 September, the South Korean flag carrier Korean Air announced the launch of three weekly direct charter flights between Seoul Incheon airport and Lisbon.
Earlier, on 1 July, Korean Air had resumed daily direct flights between the South Korean capital and Macau, after a four-year break due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This connection can also be used for passengers who want to fly between Macau and Lisbon, CAM said in a statement in May.
"This means that passengers can travel directly from Macau to Portugal via Seoul with Korean Air," the company emphasised.
At the end of April, the airline said the flights would run until at least 25 October, but said it had plans "to extend the operation of this route during the winter season".
According to the International Air Transport Association, the winter season for civil aviation starts on 27 October and runs until 30 March 2025.
Korean Air emphasised that the new connection from Incheon will offer "the only direct flights between Lisbon and Northeast Asia", a region that includes Japan, Mongolia and the far east of Russia.
In June 2023, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes described the launch of direct flights to Portugal as ‘a dream’, but pointed out that it was also possible to work with the neighbouring airports of Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
The latest estimate given to Lusa by the Consulate General of Portugal in Macau pointed to more than 100,000 Portuguese passport holders living in the two Chinese semi-autonomous regions of Macau and Hong Kong.
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