MACAO, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- A direct flight was launched from China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) to the central Philippine city of Cebu on Friday, according to the Macao International Airport (MIA).

The new route between Macao and Cebu, with daily direct flights, is operated by Air Asia. It is also the airline's second Philippine route from Macao, and the 10th international destinations from Macao.

The Southeast Asian market is an important source, with an increasing number of air passengers travelling to Macao each year, director of the MIA's marketing department Eric Fong said at the launching ceremony.

About 25,000 passengers used the airport every day in January, up 20 percent year-on-year, according to the MIA.