Starting Nov. 15, 2025, AirAsia will be flying from Cebu to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia twice daily and Cebu to Macau thrice weekly.
Firefly Airlines, a subsidiary of Malaysian Airlines, will also be flying to Kuala Lumpur from Cebu five times weekly starting Dec. 2.
Jetstar Airways will have direct flights from Cebu to Brisbane, Australia, thrice weekly starting Dec. 3.
Expanding horizons
“We're very excited about these new routes. Imagine going to Kuala Lumpur, you don't need to go from Cebu to Manila, transfer to another terminal to go to another three-four hour flight from Manila to KL,” said Christine Villanueva, head of strategy and communications of Aboitiz Infracapital Cebu Airport Corp. (ACAC), operator of MCIA.
“And at the same time, I think for our tourism partners here, Australia is a new emerging market and we have to be prepared for that. We know what they want. We have what they want and this is something that we are all very excited about,” said Villanueva during the Festival of Flights Media Launch on Sept. 25.
Boosted frequencies
Aside from the new routes, airlines have also increased domestic flight frequencies at the MCIA.
Starting Nov. 15, AirAsia increased its flights to Davao to 18 times weekly, to Caticlan in Aklan—the gateway to Boracay Island—to 11 times weekly, and to Iloilo to four times weekly.
Philippine Airlines also boosted its flights to Calbayog City, Samar, to four times weekly beginning Oct. 26.
Currently, Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) connects to 44 destinations: 28 domestic routes and 16 international flights, served by 21 airline partners—five local carriers and 16 foreign-owned.
‘Festival of Flights’
"Today's 'Festival of Flights' marks a pivotal moment for MCIA and the regions we serve. We are thrilled to introduce these vital new routes," said Athanasios Titonis, Aboitiz InfraCapital ACAC chief executive officer.
"This significant expansion in our connectivity not only offers our passengers greater choice and convenience, but also directly aligns with our new CebConnects campaign, which highlights Cebu's strategic role as a seamless tourism transfer hub."
Villanueva said CebConnects is MCIA’s unique selling proposition, made possible by Cebu’s strategic location at the center of the Philippines.
She pointed out that MCIA is the only airport offering access to other island destinations in the country in less than an hour and a half.
“And we are also the only one with a transfer facility wherein you don't need to get out of the terminal to go to the other terminal,” Villanueva said.
“So, if you're doing international to domestic, domestic to domestic, or domestic to international, we have the connectivity bridge facility to do that for you,” she added.
The new routes and increased flight frequencies are projected to drive higher passenger traffic at MCIA.
Soaring ahead
Titonis said passenger traffic at MCIA is projected to rise to 13 million next year, up from an expected 12 million by the end of 2025. Last year, the airport recorded 11.3 million passengers.
MCIA, the country’s second-largest airport, is regarded as the Philippines’ premier gateway to the Visayas and Mindanao.
It was named Best Airport in Asia-Pacific in the 5–15 million Passengers Per Annum category at the 2024 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards, and had also received the Platinum Green Airport Award, Level 1 Airport Carbon Accreditation, and Level 1 Accessibility Accreditation.
MCIA is the first airport in the Philippines to operate parallel runways, significantly enhancing efficiency and capacity.
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