Contemporary history
Following Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), one of the biggest typhoons ever recorded and one of the most destructive typhoons in the Philippines, the airport was used as a center for air operations for the relief effort. The airport is centrally located in the Visayas which was the region most affected by the storm, especially the Eastern Visayas islands of Leyte and Samar. The Cebu airport was relatively unaffected by the storm while the airports of the Eastern Visayas were unusable immediately after.[18]
On November 12, 2013, the world's longest and heaviest aircraft, the Antonov An-225 Mriya, landed at MCIA from Zagreb International Airport in Croatia for the first time in the Philippines. It delivered a 180-ton replacement transformer from the Croatian energy company KONČAR for the First Gen Corporation's power plant in Batangas City. Officials of First Gen approached MCIAA General Manager Nigel Paul Villarete to allow the Antonov An-225 to utilize the airport for the transportation of their delivery after officials from Clark International Airport, Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, and Subic Bay International Airport refused to allow the aircraft to utilize their airports.[19] According to First Gen President Francis Giles Puno, MCIA had been inspected by Antonov Airlines, the owner of the Antonov An-225 aircraft, as the most viable option for their aircraft, "after considering the combination of airport, onward land transport and sea freight."[20]
Philippine Airlines offered non-stop flights to Los Angeles, the longest route from MCIA, beginning in March 2016. However, the flights ended in May 2017. This was the Visayan airport's only direct link to North America when it was still operational.[21]
On December 16, 2021, the airport was closed indefinitely after sustaining heavy damage from Typhoon Rai (Odette) before resuming operations on December 19 under a new layout that integrates both terminals together since the domestic terminal sustained the most damage, while the international terminal only suffered minor damage.[22]
On September 2, 2022, Aboitiz purchased a 33.33% stake on GMR–Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation for ₱25 billion. In turn, GMR–Megawide issued ₱15 billion worth of exchangeable bonds in exchange for the remaining shares in GMCAC.[23] On October 30, 2024, it fully acquired GMCAC for ₱7.76 billion, thereby completely taking over the operations of MCIA.[24]
