Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) continues to serve as a central hub for inter-island travel, providing faster and more convenient access to destinations best reached via Cebu.
With an expanding domestic route network and seamless transfer services all launched in 2025, MCIA reinforces Cebu’s role as a strategic gateway for travelers exploring the Philippines’ most distinctive islands.
Beginning December 15, Sunlight Air launched non-stop flights to Siquijor via Cebu, providing the country’s only direct air link to the island. Known as the “Healing Island,” Siquijor attracts visitors with its white sand beaches, crystal-clear waters, and rich marine biodiversity.
Tourism in Siquijor is projected to generate PHP 300 million in revenue by 2026, creating new opportunities for local communities through jobs and infrastructure development. Access is further enhanced by CEB Connects, MCIA’s premier air-to-air transfer service, which shortens connection times to 60 minutes for international flights and 35 minutes for domestic flights, allowing travelers to reach their island destinations with minimal transfer times.
Similarly, Siargao, renowned for its world-class surfing spots and natural attractions, is most efficiently reached via Cebu, with Sunlight Air providing direct connections from MCIA for travelers arriving from Manila or overseas.
Cebu also serves as the gateway to San Vicente, Palawan, with Cebu Pacific offering the only direct flights to this emerging tourist destination. Famous for the Philippines’ longest white sand beach (14.7 km), pristine shores, and lush forests, San Vicente joins a growing list of islands best accessed by flying via Cebu.
Together, these routes highlight the #FlyViaMCIA advantage: convenient, time-efficient connections to island destinations that define the Philippine travel experience. By reducing inter-island travel to just 45 to 60 minutes, MCIA enables travelers to reach destinations that would otherwise require longer, more complex journeys—making every trip seamless, comfortable, and distinctly Filipino.
MCIA has been under the operation of Aboitiz InfraCapital Cebu Airport Corporation since October 2024, and forms an integral part of the AIC Airports platform.
United under a single vision, AIC Airports is developing a growing network of world-class airports across the country, each serving a distinct role in national connectivity and expected to collectively account for around 16 million passengers by year-end, or over 20% of the country’s passenger traffic:
- MCIA as the Connectivity Hub, envisioned to be the country’s main tourism transfer hub;
- Bohol-Panglao International Airport (BPIA) as the Leisure Hub, gateway to the country’s UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Global Geopark tourism; and
- Laguindingan International Airport (LIA) as the Service Hub, driving business and logistics access to Mindanao.
AIC is currently undertaking the development and modernization of BPIA and LIA over the short- to medium-term beginning 2025, under a broader transformation under the multi-year concession agreements awarded by the government in 2024.
Starting 2025 AIC Airports, under the oversight of the Department of Transportation and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, will introduce more modernization projects that will elevate the passenger experience and make Philippine airports globally competitive.
