NAIA posts post-pandemic highest volume of passengers, flight movement in April 2023
The Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) has posted the highest volume of passengers and flight movement in April this year, the highest since the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.
In a statement, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said it handled a total of 1,677,779 international passengers and 9,089 international flights in April, which it said, was more than double the number of passengers and planes have taken off and landed.
The MIAA was comparing the April 2023 data in April last year when there were 663,824 international passengers and 4,494 international flights.
“Summer is indeed a popular time for vacation and international travel, not only for Filipinos taking advantage of airlines’ promotional fares or using travel funds for flights they couldn't use due to the pandemic, but also for our international visitors wanting to see the Philippines,” said MIAA Officer-in-Charge Bryan Co.
The MIAA manages the NAIA.
“After more than two years of closed borders, we expect the momentum of recovery to continue for tourism and the aviation industry," he added.
Combined with domestic figures, NAIA registered a total of 3,666,503 passengers and 22,816 flights in April 2023.
This represents a 50 percent rise from the 2,447,795 passengers in April 2022, and accounts for 86% of the 4,261,352 passengers in April 2019, the last full year before the pandemic.
Flight movement has also increased by 28 percent compared to the 17,774 flights in the same month last year, and is equivalent to 98% of the 23,327 flights in April 2019.
MIAA recorded an average of 75.20 percent flight on-time performance (OTP) in April 2023, an improvement from April 2022’s OTP rating of 71.24 percent. (with reports from Ariel Fernandez)