Consortium plans to undertake more improvements at Mactan airport

MANILA, Philippines – The consortium handling the modernization and expansion of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) plans to undertake more improvements at the airport, which has been named among the 30 best airports in Asia.

A survey conducted by travel website The Guide to Sleeping in Airports showed the MCIA at 18th spot in the list of the 30 best airports in Asia.

“This is just the beginning. This ranking motivates us to work even harder in making MCIA one of the best airports in the world,” GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. (GMCAC) president Louie Ferrer said in a statement.

He said getting the 18th place in the region is a welcome development as the company is focused on implementing improvements at the terminal.

GMCAC, which won the MCIA terminal building modernization and expansion public-private partnership deal, is composed of Filipino company Megawide and India-based GMR.

A year after GMCAC’s takeover, travelers have noted significant improvements at the airport like shorter passenger queues, cooler temperature and brighter surroundings. Baggage retrieval at the airport is also faster.

The company has also installed brand-new ergonomic seats in the pre-departure lounge, while a standardized public announcement system has been put in place.

To accommodate more passengers during peak hours, the company has put up new universal check-in counters and self check-in kiosks.

More shopping and food options are also being made available to provide passengers a better airport experience.

“Working with a world-class operator like GMR gives us the confidence that we will attain our objective of being ranked as one of the best, if not the best airport in our category,” Ferrer said.

Aside from MCIA, two other Philippine airports made it to the list of 30 best airports in the region. These are Iloilo International Airport (21st) and the Clark International Airport (24th).

The annual survey was based on airport experiences of travelers covering the following areas: services and facilities, terminal cleanliness, customer service and comfort.