NAIA draws 8% more passengers last year

MANILA, Philippines - Over 36 million passengers transited through the country’s main hub, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), in 2015, eight percent higher from records in 2014.

The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) reported a total of 36,681,601 passengers utilized the four terminals of NAIA, an increase of two million passengers from 34,094,159 in 2014.

Domestic passengers reached 19,513,514 while international travelers totaled 17,168,087.

“Airport developments in the previous year served as the foundation for the steady increase of passengers,” MIAA general manager Jose Angel Honrado said.

He noted flight operations were enhanced with the reactivation of Runway 31 for departures, allowing flight movements to take place concurrently on both runways.

The extension of Taxiway N also decongested the taxiway particularly at the intersection of the runways and facilitated flexible handling of international operations.

“The rehabilitation project of Terminal 1 widened passenger movement areas with the redesigning of the terminal interiors,” Honrado added.

Furthermore, the introduction of new routes and airline partnerships led to the increase in passengers last year, bringing the total number of airlines operating at NAIA to 40 with more than 90 destinations worldwide.

Turkish Airlines and Ethiopian Airlines started their Manila route to Istanbul and Addis Ababa, respectively, while local carriers expanded their connections to Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Qatar, and Japan.

Projects in store for 2016 include the upgrading of the air conditioning systems at Terminals 2 and 3 and the introduction of transportation network companies to the airport.

“We continue to build on developments from last year as management brings in more projects this year for the benefit of passengers,” Honrado said.