NAIA gets 158% more passengers in Q1

MANILA, Philippines — The number of passengers who passed through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in the first quarter of 2023 rose by 158 percent compared to the same period last year, according to the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA).

Records show that 10,855,332 passengers went through NAIA from January to March. This is 158 percent higher compared to the 4,200,575 passengers in the same period last year.

The MIAA said this is six percent lower compared to the 11,587,919 travelers recorded during the same period in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the country’s borders.

There were a total of 67,781 flight movements for the first quarter of 2023, compared to 38,269 in 2022.

This is a 77 percent increase, the MIAA said, and is four percent higher than the 65.161 flights in the first quarter of 2019.

“With the reopening of borders in countries such as Hong Kong and China, as well as the easing of travel restrictions, many travelers have regained confidence to fly in and out of the Philippines for both leisure and business purposes,” MIAA general manager Cesar Chiong said.

The domestic market in the Philippines also saw an uptick in the first quarter of 2023.

The MIAA said that a total of 6,164,985 passengers traveled on 42,331 domestic flights for 2023, which is more than the 5,451,655 passengers who traveled in 2019 over 36,206 flights.

“Because domestic borders opened earlier than international borders, airlines are deploying a lot of flights right now to serve our local destinations. Our domestic sector is thriving, and we are seeing the results of the government’s efforts to revive tourism,” Chiong said.

“As the aviation industry recovers from the effects of the pandemic, passenger numbers are likely to rise further in the coming months and years,” he added. — Rudy Santos