In order to cater for the air transport demand during the Chinese New Year holidays which are approaching, the Civil Aviation Authority of Macao SAR (AACM) has approved a total of 66 extra and charter flights upon requests by airlines. In addition, AACM appeals to passengers who make their travels via Macau International Airport to pay attention to and not to violate Macao's air transport and security requirements. The Chinese New Year is one of the most important festivals in the Chinese community. It is also the peak time where Chinese people enjoy family reunion, pay visits to relatives and friends, and travel for leisure. The trend for Macao residents to arrange outbound travels during this period is going up. Meantime, the number of tourists coming to Macao to spend their holidays is also increasing continuously. During this period every year, airlines always need to increase their capacity to meet the market demand. In order to cater for this need, AACM has approved a total of 66 extra and charter flights upon requests by airlines. These extra and charter flights include 20 flights to and from Shanghai, 14 to and from Shenzhen, 8 to and from Hangzhou, 4 each to and from Shenyang and Qingdao, 6 to and from Sapporo, 2 to and from Taichung, 4 to and from Kaohsiung and 4 to and from Seoul. There are occasional incidents of passengers carrying prohibited items and violating discipline inside aircraft at Macau International Airport. Take the past three years for instance, there were about 13 passengers per year who had violated the Administrative Regulation No. 31/2003 which stipulates the prohibited items and the illegal offences inside a civil aircraft, namely smoking, use of cellular phones, and other acts of disobedience to captain's orders, and who were then fined by AACM. Although the number of unruly passengers was not significant, the Authority wishes to stress that such acts would always lead to flight delays and therefore affect the other passengers. Therefore, AACM appeals to passengers who travel via Macau International Airport to pay attention to the requirements relating to air transport and security, in order that passengers will not violate the provisions and cause impact to the normal operation of the flight and decline their own travel mood. Passengers can read the relevant information in the "Passenger Guide" and "Security Notice to Passengers" as well as the provisions of the above mentioned administrative regulation at AACM's website: www.aacm.gov.mo According to world weather reports, certain destinations covered by Macao's aviation network might expect unfavourable weather conditions during this Chinese New Year. In consideration of this situation, AACM has requested the airport operators and the local airlines to ensure the timely and smooth release of flight information to the outside in case of flight delays resulting from the Act of God.
