CEBU’s air passenger traffic slumped 20 percent in the first three months of 2020 as the coronavirus outbreak and related travel restrictions decimated demand.

International passengers who fly through the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) collapsed 78 percent to 75,636 in March alone, when travel curbs started to escalate, from 341,609 in the same month last year.

Domestic passengers also saw a record 55 percent drop in March to 304,774 from 681,913 in the same month in 2019.

Overall passenger traffic in March 2020 fell 63 percent to 380,410 from 1.02 million in the same period last year.

Passenger volume—both domestic and international—in the first quarter of 2020 dropped to 2.43 million from 3.04 million in the same period last year.

Earlier this month, local airlines notified passengers of new normal procedures as they prepare to fly again after a two-month stoppage due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cebu Pacific, AirAsia and Philippine Airlines have all suspended operations until the end of May to heed travel restrictions.

They are expected to resume flights on June 1 on a limited capacity.

Cebu Province is now under general community quarantine while the cities of Cebu and Mandaue are still on enhanced community quarantine until May 31.

MCIA’s revenue for this year is under pressure amid falling traffic at the country’s second busiest air hub.

Megawide Construction Corp., one of the firms managing the airport, is scheduled to disclose its first quarter financial results on May 29.

Ravishankar Saravu, chief commercial advisor at GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp., said airport traffic recovery will largely depend on passengers’ willingness to fly again. He said easing of government restrictions will also dictate the recovery path of the air travel industry.

Looking forward, he said Cebu will likely benefit from short-haul trips, which are seen to be preferred among passengers post-crisis as safety concerns will persist.

‘Filipino brand of service’

Meanwhile, the Department of Tourism (DOT) showcased the Filipino brand of service when it assisted over 35,000 stranded tourists amid the pandemic.

According to Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., foreign embassies and consuls said that “the Philippines stands out for the care and concern and help that they did.”

“We showed goodwill when we have the chance to demonstrate it, they are so grateful to Tourism Secretary Bernadette Puyat for the extraordinary work she did to get the stranded nationals out,” Locsin said.

To date, the DOT in coordination with the different government agencies have assisted 35,502 tourists, of which 26,550 are foreign and 8,952 are domestic, in getting home either by land, sea and air travel, or providing them with food and accommodation.

In Central Visayas alone, the DOT 7 said it assisted a total of 10,104 stranded foreign tourists since March 19. (with KOC)