News from exhibitors and delegates attending Routes Asia 2024 in Langkawi, Malaysia.

New Routes And Infrastructure Upgrades Boost Melbourne

Melbourne Airport achieved a notable milestone in December 2023, becoming Australia's first major city airport to reach 100% of pre-COVID international seat capacity.

The focus on recovery led to the return of airlines like LATAM, Aircalin, and seven Chinese carriers. Transitioning into a growth phase, new routes and airlines, such as Vietjet to Ho Chi Minh City and Air India's inaugural Melbourne to Mumbai service, were introduced. Asiana Airlines also started seasonal services to Seoul in December, becoming the 38th international carrier to serve Melbourne Airport.

The addition of Turkish Airlines, marking Melbourne as its first Australian destination, further enhances connectivity, making the city the 346th destination in the Star Alliance member’s global network.

“Keeping up with growing demand is one of the areas we have been focused on for some time, even during the quieter COVID period,” the airport says. “We have worked across all our terminals to make sure we can meet capacity and provide the facilities that customers demand of a world-class airport.

“We have several projects currently underway to improve infrastructure, including ongoing enhancements to Terminal 3, upgrades to baggage handling and investment in road networks around the airport precinct.”

Looking ahead, Melbourne Airport is finalizing proposals for a third runway to help boost traffic to 76 million passengers per year by 2042, up from 37 million in 2019. “We’re one of the busiest airports in the world without a parallel runway, so this is a huge opportunity for Melbourne and Victoria,” the airport adds.

“We expect a decision from the Australian government early this year. Government approval would then kick-start detailed design and a five- to six-year construction period.”

Cebu Charts Traffic Recovery

Mactan-Cebu International Airport (CEB) witnessed a substantial surge in traffic in 2023, accommodating over 10 million international and domestic passengers.

This growth of 81% compared to 2022 marks a significant rebound, reaching approximately 80% of 2019 levels. The airport welcomed new carriers, including Starlux Airlines initiating flights from Taipei, while Cebu Pacific introduced services to the Taiwan capital, and Philippines AirAsia inaugurated Tokyo Narita flights.

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CEB's collaborative strategy resulted in the presence of five Philippine carriers and 15 foreign airlines by the end of 2023. The airport has a total of 28 domestic and 12 international destinations, representing 85% of CEB's pre-pandemic network.

“Our approach to route development is simply knowing the market, confidently working and

strategizing with the airlines and implementing high impact marketing initiatives,” the airport says.

To help make the new Starlux service a success, CEB’s marketing team deployed vloggers from Taipei and Cebu to post content on social media about the airline and destinations. This helped to spark curiosity and translated into bookings on the new flights.

Traffic Tops 40 Million At Chengdu Tianfu

Since opening for commercial operations in June 2021, China’s Chengdu Tianfu International Airport (TFU) has welcomed 53 airline partners serving 144 domestic and 45 international destinations, helping passenger numbers to top 40 million during 2023.

The airport, located approximately 31 mi. southeast Chengdu at the juncture of Jianyang City and Jintang County, has secured a string of new routes in recent months, including VietJet’s flights from Ho Chi Minh City which began on Feb. 10 and will operate daily.

Other network successes have included Loong Air’s 3X-weekly domestic operation from Lanzhou; Spring Airlines commencing flights to Nha Trang Cam Ranh Airport, Vietnam; and Sichuan Airlines scheduling the launch of a daily Kuala Lumpur route from March 31.

Additionally, Sichuan Airlines started a 2X-weekly Los Angeles service with A350 equipment in November, expanding the number of North American destinations served from TFU to two. Alongside the U.S. flights, the carrier also serves Vancouver, Canada.