Editing Macau International Airport (section)

==History==
Before the opening of Macau airport, the nearest international airport was [[Kai Tak Airport|Kai Tak]] in [[British Hong Kong]] and passengers from Macau had to take a ferry to Hong Kong in order to fly out of Kai Tak. Upon planning, Macau airport was said that it would relieve the congestion at Kai Tak.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Finlay |first1=Victoria |title=Macau airport to 'relieve Kai Tak' |url=https://www.scmp.com/article/60370/macau-airport-relieve-kai-tak |agency=The South China Morning Post |date=January 24, 1994}}</ref> The Macau airport was constructed on [[reclaimed land]] adjacent to the islands of [[Taipa]] and [[Coloane]].<ref name="ns1295">{{cite news | title=Macau Airport built on reclaimed land opens | work=New Straits Times | date=1995-12-09 | author=Menon, Vijayan | id={{ProQuest|269071286}}}}</ref> It cost US$1 billion to build. Commercial air service began on 9 November 1995. The first departure was an [[Air Macau]] flight to Beijing, and the first arrival was a [[Malaysia Airlines]] flight from Kuala Lumpur.<ref>{{cite news | title=Absence of facilities at Macau airport 'normal' | work=South China Morning Post | date=1995-11-10 | author=Ionides, Nicholas | id={{ProQuest|265265309}}}}</ref> The official inauguration ceremony took place on 8 December 1995, and [[Portuguese President|Portuguese president]] [[Mário Soares]] presided over it.<ref name="ns1295" />

In April 1996, [[TAP Air Portugal]] started service to Lisbon using [[Airbus A340|Airbus A340s]].<ref>{{cite news | title=Route developments | work=World Airline News | date=1996-02-05 | id={{ProQuest|195017579}}}}</ref><ref name="fg96">{{cite web | url=https://www.flightglobal.com/tap-trickles-into-macau/8188.article | title=TAP trickles into Macau | work=Airline Business | date=31 July 1996 | accessdate=2 June 2021 | author=Whitaker, Richard}}</ref> It cooperated with [[Sabena]] on the route; the flight stopped in [[Brussels Airport|Brussels]], and TAP allocated a certain number of seats to the airline on the segment between Brussels and Macau. TAP encountered difficulties in running the flights. The crew had to spend long layovers in Macau because the service only operated twice a week. Additionally, TAP and Air Macau, in which the former held a stake, were unable to coordinate their schedules, making connections between the Lisbon flight and Air Macau's network inconvenient.<ref name="fg96" /> In April 1997, TAP moved the stopover to Bangkok in hopes of attracting more passengers.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.scmp.com/article/200564/macaus-airport-gamble | title=Macau's airport gamble | work=South China Morning Post | date=1997-06-19 | accessdate=26 February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=Aviation - Direct Flight to Portugal Makes Debut | work=Bangkok Post | date=1997-04-09 | author=Tansubhapol, Bhanravee}}</ref> Nevertheless, it was losing money on the route. The company's chairman stated in November 1997 that he wanted to end the link but that he faced opposition from the [[Portuguese government]], which owned the airline.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.flightglobal.com/turn-off-the-tap/18564.article | title=Turn off the TAP | work=Airline Business | date=30 November 1997 | accessdate=2 June 2021}}</ref> TAP stopped serving Macau the following year.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.scmp.com/article/391183/buyer-sight-air-macau-stake | title=Buyer in sight for Air Macau stake | work=South China Morning Post | date=2002-09-13 | accessdate=26 February 2023 | author=Lo, Joseph}}</ref>