Mactan Cebu International Airport (CEB) began commercial operations on April 27, 1966, replacing the constrained Lahug Airport on Cebu's main island. The site predates civilian use by a decade: the runway was constructed by the United States Air Force in 1956 as an emergency airport for Strategic Air Command bombers. International charter services commenced in 1978 as tourism to the Visayas began to grow, and on July 31, 1990, Republic Act 6958 established the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority as the governing body, transferring assets from both Mactan and Lahug airports to the newly created corporation.

Situated on 797 hectares in Lapu-Lapu City on Mactan Island, the airport is the Philippines' second busiest after Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport. It is a hub for Philippine Airlines and an operating base for Cebu Pacific, Philippines AirAsia, and other carriers. Routes reach Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Seoul, Hong Kong, Singapore, and dozens of domestic destinations across the archipelago. The airport is Cebu's main gateway and the primary aviation node for the entire Central Visayas region.

The defining architectural chapter came in July 2018, when Terminal 2 opened for international flights. Designed by Hong Kong-based Integrated Design Associates in collaboration with Cebuano designers Budji+Royal and Kenneth Cobonpue, the terminal's undulating glulam timber roof draws on the form of banca boats and the surrounding Visayan seas. It won the Completed Buildings Transport category at the 2019 World Architecture Festival. On January 30, 2025, the airport inaugurated a second parallel runway, becoming the first airport in the Philippines to operate a parallel runway system.