Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JUL 2023年7月 亞博匯 92 provide space to adjust the price of flight tickets,” said Legislator Lam U Tou, although he suggests a common-sense approach to which routes might be added. “The position of the airport in Macau should focus on East- Asian airlines but not long- distance flights, because Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) or other airports in Guangdong Province are much more attractive than Macau,” Lam explained. The opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge in October 2018 has cut travel time between HKIA and Macau to around one hour. HKIA also saw 419,795 flight movements in 2019 – almost six times more than MIA. “It is unrealistic to carry long- distance flights in Macau civil aviation markets based on the capacity of visitors at Macau’s airport,” Lam said. “It is better to pursue co-operations with airports in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta region.” Adds David Green, founder of Newpage Consulting and a former advisor to the Macau government, “The move to liberalize the airline concession is long overdue. Zhuhai and Hong Kong have been busy expanding their capacity while Macau has procrastinated. “With Guangzhou and Shenzhen having also focused on enhancing their terminal, runway and ground handling facilities, one could be excused for thinking that Macau cannot play in that same company. Time will tell, but it is clear that further delay will only serve to damage any aspirations for the successful exploitation of new tourist markets, and deeper penetration of existing ones.” Macau has been home to some other airlines in the past. In 2006, the SAR government divided the aviation franchise of Air Macau, granting Viva Macau and Golden Dragon Airlines sub-concession agreements and Macau Asia Express a joint concession with Air Macau. Viva Macau once operated flights between Macau, Sydney and Melbourne, but all three airlines collapsed within four years due to financial problems. In 2018, sources claimed that Turkish Airlines and Qatar Airways had plans to open direct flights to Macau, although these plans were never realized. To date, both Turkish Airlines and The Bill provides for authorities to grant new 25-year licenses by way of public tender, with an order from the Chief Executive to determine howmany licenses can be awarded. 該法案規定當局可以通過公開方式頒發新的 25年許可證，並由行政長官下令確定可頒發 的許可證數量。 FEATURES