5 foreign airlines to move to NAIA-3

MANILA, Philippines - Five more foreign airlines will transfer their operations from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 (NAIA-1) to NAIA-3 in the first quarter of next year.

This move by Cathay Pacific, Delta Air, Emirates, Etihad and Singapore Airlines would mean at least two million passengers per year would no longer go through NAIA-1.

Japan’s All Nippon Airlines has been operating at NAIA-3 since last year.

The decision by airport authorities to allow five foreign airlines to relocate to NAIA-3 was arrived at following complaints from the Airline Operators Council about the congestion experienced by arriving and departing airplanes.

Due to high volume of air traffic, it was found out that air traffic controllers had to process about 56 landings and takeoffs per hour. The ideal volume is about 40 aircrafts per hour.

NAIA-1 was built in 1982 and designed to accommodate 4.5 million passengers a year. However, authorities found out that the terminal had exceeded its capacity – it served 7.8 million passengers last year, according to airport sources.

The five foreign airlines will join local carriers Cebu Pacific and Airphil Express at NAIA-3.