Gama Aviation (GMA, Farnborough) is eyeing growth at Macau International as an alternative to congested Hong Kong International and is hopeful towards the government-led creation of the Greater Bay Area (GBA) economic zone, AINonline has reported.
The British business charter specialist currently has a base at Hong Kong Int'l but faces significant capacity constraints at the airport.
"Three years ago there were no parking slots; and then there was parking, but no landing slots! It’s easier for us now, but it’s still not like normal airport operations. There are still lots of restrictions," managing director (Asia) Sergio Oliveira e Silva said.
The GBA programme assumes a closer integration of the two Special Administrative Regions (SAR) and the mainland city of Zhuhai. Under its auspices, there is a plan to expand Macau airport. This could free up space for business charter operators. Currently, there are just two Fixed Base Operators in Macau, including TAG Aviation (United Kingdom) (VIP, Farnborough) since January 2019.
"For many years there was a big question over which airport of the two [Macau or Zhuhai] would be the private jet airport - now we know it will be Macau. It’s a nice airport with lots of opportunities," Oliveira e Silva said. He cautioned that given the local bureaucracy, any substantial expansion of Macau was unlikely sooner than in ten years' time.
