On 9 February, Alexandre Leitão met with the CEO of the Hong Kong Airports Authority (AAHK), Vivian Cheung Kar-fay, and the head of new route development.

"[The meeting in Hong Kong was an] opportunity to address matters of mutual interest," the consulate said in a message published on Facebook.

When questioned by the Macau press about whether the two parties had discussed potential direct passenger flights between Hong Kong and Portugal, Alexandre Leitão did not reveal details about the meeting.

In a written response to Lusa's questions, the AAHK said it has been seeking to "establish contacts with airlines and commercial partners in the global sector, including government authorities and airport operators."

The goal is to “foster cooperative relationships in route development,” added a spokesperson for the Hong Kong airport operator.

AAHK also said it has been working with the government of the semi-autonomous Chinese region to “establish new air service agreements or expand existing ones.”

Hong Kong currently has no air service agreement with Portugal, unlike neighbouring Spain, which signed a pact in 2018.

After launching flights to 30 new destinations in 2025, AAHK assured that it “will continue to expand its extensive air network.”

On 3 April 2025, Ethiopian Airlines launched the first long-haul cargo route between Macau and Madrid.

At the time, Ethiopian Airlines' country director for China, Aman Wole Gurmu, emphasised that Macau is “an important platform” for economic and commercial cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.

In 2003, China established the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) as a platform for strengthening economic and trade cooperation with Portuguese-speaking countries and, in the same year, created the Forum on Macau.

The organisation includes, in addition to China, the countries that make up the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP): Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe, Timor-Leste and, since 2022, Equatorial Guinea.

Three weeks after the launch of the flight between Madrid and Macau, Alexandre Leitão lamented that the connection does not stop in Lisbon or Porto.

The 2021 census indicates more than 2,200 people born in Portugal living in Macau. The latest estimate from the Consulate General of Portugal to Lusa indicated approximately 155,000 Portuguese passport holders among the residents of Macau and Hong Kong.

Both the Macau Tourism Services Directorate and several members of parliament – ​​including the Portuguese José Pereira Coutinho, who received the most votes in the September elections – have called for the resumption of passenger flights to and from Portugal.