The monopoly enjoyed by Air Macau (NX, Macau International) may be drawing to a close as the government weighs its options ahead of the end of the 25-year franchise. The concession is due to expire in 2020, and the government must decide whether to liberalise the aviation sector or to retain the status quo, reports the South China Morning Post.

Air Macau was awarded a 25-year concession in 1995 to exclusively operate flights in and out of the autonomous region. Low-cost carriers entered the market in 2004, and Air Macau eventually sublicensed some of its concession rights to a low-cost carrier, Viva Macau (Macau International), which operated from 2006 until it lost its sub-concession in 2010.

Currently, twenty-four carriers operate out of Macau International, with Air Macau offering 40,000 seats or 42.3% of total capacity. The next biggest operators are foreign carriers Tigerair Taiwan with 8,280 seats (8.7%), EVA Air with 7,700 seats (8.1%) and Thai AirAsia with 7,000 seats (7.4%). The state's only other domestic carrier is helicopter service operator East Asia Airlines (EMU, Macau Heliport).

The South China Post speculates that if the market were to become more open, local billionaire Pansy Ho Chiu-king could once again try to launch a budget airline, after a failed attempt in 2004.

Advice from consultants about the future of Macau's aviation industry is due to be delivered to the Civil Aviation Authority of Macau at the end of July.