MANILA, Philippines — Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) has reminded passengers that all of its international flights will be located at the Terminal 1 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) by June 16.
In an advisory, PAL said that all of its foreign flights will depart from Terminal 1 while all of its domestic trips will remain at Terminal 2 starting June 16.
PAL had asked its passengers to arrive at the airport about four hours before an international flight and three hours prior to a local trip.
“Doing so will give travelers enough time for immigration and security checks. PAL allows early check-in for international passengers in Terminal 1 and domestic passengers in Terminal 2,” PAL said.
The adjustment is covered by the Schedule and Terminal Assignment Rationalization (STAR) of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA). Under the program, MIAA is reorganizing the terminal assignments of multiple airlines to maximize NAIA’s existing facilities.
In April, MIAA relocated the Manila operations of China Southern Airlines, Jetstar Asia, Jetstar Japan, Scoot and Starlux Airlines to Terminal 3.
At the same time, MIAA started transferring some of PAL’s overseas flights to Terminal 2, from Terminal 1, particularly to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Phnom Penh and Singapore.
As part of STAR, MIAA also moved the Manila flights of Ethiopian Airlines, Gulf Air, Jeju Air and Thai Airways to Terminal 3 on June 1.
Based on the timetable, MIAA will adjust next all of the domestic flights of AirAsia Philippines and Royal Air Philippines. By July 1, the local flights of these carriers will be in Terminal 2, completing the government’s plan to turn the terminal into an all-domestic facility.
Down the line, MIAA aims to expand the passenger capacity of Terminal 2, which was originally constructed to house only domestic flights. As the agency works on this, the local flights of Cebu Pacific will remain at Terminals 3 and 4.
Even with the terminal changes, passenger volume in NAIA has reached a total of 14.53 million as of April to sustain its upward trend in the pandemic aftermath.
For 2023, MIAA expects passenger traffic at the airport to breach the 2022 record of 30.9 million due to the desire of travelers to complete their plans postponed by the pandemic.