Passenger experience at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) is expected to improve by 50 percent in the upcoming Christmas season amid improvements from New NAIA Infrastructure Corp.'s (NNIC) first 60 days since the takeover.
In a briefing, Ramon S. Ang, NNIC president and chief executive officer (CEO), said that the company was coordinating with airlines to avoid simultaneous departures and observe on-time departures.
“With that I’m confident our fellow Filipinos will have a much better experience this December,” he said.
Just two months after taking over, NNIC unveiled a series of improvements already made for NAIA, including airside enhancements, landside developments, and infrastructure upgrades for the initial phase.
For airside, NNIC has begun renovating NAIA terminal 4 and increasing the number of passenger boarding bridges in operation, with six designed for wide-body aircraft reopened. Two existing PBBs at Terminal 3 have been converted into “swing gates” to accommodate domestic and international flights.
A new explosive detection system (EDS) was procured in June 2024, before NNIC’s official takeover. Installation is slated for the first quarter of 2025, replacing the current 20-year-old system.
NNIC also announced that the Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) implementation of a “fly-to-gate” biometric passenger processing system is underway.
Internet connectivity has been significantly improved at NAIA. Through partnerships with PLDT/Smart and Converge, average speeds have improved to 50-60 Mbps average speeds, with up to 115 Mbps peak speeds. Free use has been extended to three hours, with no personal information required.
For landside, NNIC has freed up approximately 1,800 parking slots, significantly improving traffic flow within the airport which accommodates about 140,000 passengers daily.
Road network improvements are ongoing, including the expansion of roads and the addition of new toll exits from the NAIA Expressway to improve accessibility.
Curbside enhancements are currently being implemented to ease congestion and improve the convenience of passengers. NNIC has designated clear zones for pick-up, drop-off, and taxis, and is expanding the arrival curbsides across terminals to better accommodate traffic. Terminal 1’s curbside will be widened from 3 to 8 lanes, Terminal 2 from 4 to 8 lanes, and Terminal 3 from 8 to 12 lanes.
In July, NNIC also completed construction of, and opened, the new Overseas Filipino Workers’ (OFW) lounge at Terminal 3. The lounge provides ample seating, free Wi-Fi, food and drinks.
To ensure a reliable power supply and improve power quality throughout the airport, NNIC said it has partnered with Meralco to install a 115KV dedicated substation for NAIA to enhance the airport's electrical distribution system and support its modernization as well as partnered with Mserv to install a 6.12 MW uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system for Terminal 3 which will provide backup power to essential systems, including airfield lighting.
NNIC is also working with airline stakeholders to implement new terminal assignments in the first quarter of 2025 to reduce congestion in high-traffic terminals particularly Terminal 3 and utilize it for its original purpose of accommodating international operations.
“It has only been two months since we assumed management of NAIA. It has been a very busy transition period, and as expected, we’ve encountered our fair share of challenges. Still, we’re optimistic about the progress we’ve made and the upcoming improvements we’re working on,” Ang said.
“There is no magic wand to fix all of NAIA’s problems quickly. We cannot solve, in a matter of months, issues that have existed or built up over many decades. In fact, more problems may crop up. But that is part of modernizing an old facility like NAIA. We’re moving as fast as we can to address both immediate and major issues, and we’re putting all our resources into ensuring travelers will have an improved overall experience as we progress,” he added.