Ninoy Aquino International Airport

History

The original airport that served Manila, Grace Park Airfield, also known as Manila North, was opened in 1935 in Grace Park, Caloocan. It was the city's first commercial airport, and was used by Philippine Aerial Taxi Company (later Philippine Air Lines) for its first domestic routes. In July 1937, Manila International Air Terminal located in the 42 hectares (4,500,000 sq ft) Nielson Airport was inaugurated and had served as the gateway to Manila. Its runways of which now form Ayala Avenue and Paseo de Roxas in Makati. In 1948, following Philippine independence, the airport was moved to its current site adjacent to the Villamor Airbase, which was then called Nichols Field due to the reasons of less terrain slope, expansive land area in the new site, and the USAF base runway (Runway 13/31) which can be used for the airport. The original structure was built on what is now the site of Terminal 2.

In 1954 the airport's international runway and associated taxiway were built, and in 1956, construction was started on a control tower and a terminal building for international passengers. The new terminal was inaugurated on September 22, 1961. On January 22, 1972, a fire caused substantial damage to the original terminal building, and a slightly smaller terminal was rebuilt in its place the following year. This second terminal would become the country's international terminal until 1981 when a new, higher-capacity terminal, known today as Terminal 1, was built to replace it.

The old international terminal would serve as Manila's domestic airport until another fire damaged it in May 1985. The present Terminal 1, originally named Manila International Airport, was given its present name on August 17, 1987 by virtue of Republic Act No. 6639, with the intention of honouring Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr., who was assassinated at the airport after returning to the Philippines from his self-imposed exile in the United States on August 21, 1983. Plans for a new terminal were conceived in 1989, when the Department of Transportation and Communications commissioned Aéroports de Paris to do a feasibility study to expand capacity.

The recommendation was to build two new terminals, and in 1998 Terminal 2 was completed. Terminal 2 was nicknamed the Centennial Terminal as its completion coincided with the 100th anniversary of the Philippine Declaration of Independence from Spain. In 1997 the government approved the construction of Terminal 3, which was originally scheduled to be completed in 2002. After many delays caused by technical and legal issues, the terminal became partially operational in mid-2008 and fully operational on August 2014. The government aims to return services from many of the airlines which cancelled services to Manila as a result of Terminal 1's problems.

1990s

The original proposal for the construction of a third terminal was proposed by Asia's Emerging Dragon Corporation (AEDP). AEDP eventually lost the bid to PairCargo and its partner Fraport AG of Germany, who went on to begin construction of the terminal under the administration of Joseph Estrada. On August 1997, President Fidel V. Ramos led the groundbreaking ceremony of Terminal 3. The structure was mostly completed several years ago and was originally scheduled to open in 2002. The ultra-modern US$640 million, 189,000-square-metre (2,030,000 sq ft) facility was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) to have a capacity of 13 million passengers per year. However, a legal dispute between the government of the Philippines and the project's main contractor, Philippine International Air Terminals Co. Inc. (Piatco), over the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) contract, delayed the final completion and opening of the terminal.

While the original agreement was one in which PairCargo and Fraport AG would operate the airport for several years after its construction, followed by a handing over of the terminal to the Philippine Government, the government offered to buy out Fraport AG for $400 million, to which Fraport agreed. However, before the terminal could be fully completed, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, called the contract "onerous" and therefore formed a committee to evaluate the agreement to buy out Fraport AG. It is this action that sparked the most controversy. The Philippine Supreme Court eventually found the Piatco contract "null and void" citing a variety of anomalies.

The administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo eventually abrogated Piatco's BOT Contract for allegedly having been anomalous in certain important respects. In a subsequent decision, the Philippine Supreme Court upheld the Philippine Government's position on the matter and declared the BOT contract "null and void" for, among other things, violations of certain provisions of the BOT law. More specifically, the Court found that the original contract was revised to allow for a Philippine Government guarantee of Piatco's obligations to its creditors, contractors and suppliers. The BOT law disallows the granting of such sovereign guarantees. Piatco disagrees and continues to maintain that the provisions cited by the Supreme Court do not amount to a prohibited sovereign guarantee by the Philippine Government.

2000s

In December 2004, the Philippine government expropriated the terminal project from Piatco through an order of the Pasay City Regional Trial Court. However, the court only allowed the Philippine government to take over the terminal upon payment of an initial amount of ₱3 billion (approx. US$64 million) to Piatco. The Philippine government paid Piatco this amount during the second week of September 2006. According to the Philippine government, NAIA-3 was 98% complete (prior in 2006) and required at least an additional USD6 million to complete. The government was then in the process of negotiating a contract with the builder of the terminal, Takenaka Corporation, because another factor that delayed the terminal's opening was the ongoing investigation into the collapse of an 100-square-metre (1,100 sq ft) area of the terminal's ceiling.

Piatco (and its German partner, Fraport) have instituted arbitration proceedings before different international bodies to recover a fair settlement. Piatco sued the government before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Singapore. Fraport separately sued the Philippine government at the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington. In 2007, the ICSID case was decided in favor of the Philippine government because of a violation of Philippine law by Fraport. However, this decision was annulled in 2010 due to a violation of Fraport's right to be heard. A new proceeding before the ICSID is ongoing. Piatco formally withdrew its second application to set aside the earlier ICC ruling that dismissed its claims against the Philippine government on December 2011. The ICC ruling in favor of the Philippine government became final and executory in 2012.

Through Executive Order No. 732, the NAIA Terminal 3 Task Force was made and Michael Defensor was appointed on June 19, 2008 as head, creating the Presidential Task Force on NAIA-3 that was "mandated to ensure the immediate opening and operation of Terminal 3." The order provides for the NAIA-3 opening based on decisions of the Supreme Court and applicable laws.

Terminal 3 began partial operations at 05:15am on July 22, 2008 with 16 inbound and outbound domestic flights from Cebu Pacific. Philippine Airlines' budget brand PAL Express and Air Philippines moved their operations to this terminal two days later. Cebu Pacific moved all of its domestic and international operations to the terminal on August 1, 2008. On August 1, 2010, President Benigno Aquino III has announced plans to utilize Terminal 3 to its maximum capacity by Christmas Season 2010, which may mean moving international carriers to Terminal 3, but the goal was never reached.

The Philippine government has made a new plan where Terminal 3 would be 100% operational by the end of 2011, but lowered their goal to 55% operational after further study. The move of international carriers began in February 2011 with All Nippon Airways (ANA) starting a new service to Manila from Terminal 3, rather than Terminal 1 with other international carriers. As of 2010, ANA was the only foreign carrier at Terminal 3, but as of October 1, 2014, five international airlines have transferred from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3 namely Delta Air Lines, KLM, Emirates, Singapore Airlines, and Cathay Pacific.

Volume of passengers

This table of passenger movements at MNL is based on data from Airport Council International (ACI). 2010 NAIA passenger traffic was based on Manila International Airport Authority's website for the full-year of 2010.

Cargo volume

This table of Cargo Statistics at MNL is based on data from its Official Website

Terminal 1

Terminal 1 or NAIA-1, has an area of 67,000 square metres (720,000 sq ft) and having been completed in 1981 is the second oldest terminal at NAIA (after the Old Domestic Terminal, now called Terminal 4) with a design capacity of 4.5 million passengers per year but was further expanded to accommodate 6 million passengers. It currently serves foreign carriers operating in Manila, except for All Nippon Airways, Cathay Pacific, Delta Air Lines, Emirates, KLM, and Singapore Airlines. The detailed designs were adopted by the Philippine Government on 1974 and was subsequently approved by the Asian Development Bank on September 18, 1975. Actual work on the terminal began during the second quarter of 1978. In 1989, a Master Plan Review recommended the construction of two new terminals (NAIA 2 and NAIA 3), as well as many other facility improvements.

The development of the Manila International Airport was finally approved through the promulgation of Executive Order No. 381, which authorized the airport's development. In 1973, a feasibility study/airport master plan was done by Airways Engineering Corporation through a US$29.6 million loan from the Asian Development Bank. The Detailed Engineering Design of the New Manila International Airport Development Project was done by Renardet-Sauti/Transplan/F.F. Cruz Consultant while the terminal's Detailed Architectural Design was prepared by Leandro Locsin's L.V. Locsin and Associates.

The terminal reached capacity in 1991, when it registered a total passenger volume of 4.53 million. Since 1991, the terminal has been over capacity and has been recording an annual average growth rate of 11%, but improvements to the airport increased its capacity to 6 million passengers yearly. It has 18 air bridges and services 33 airlines (as of May 2011). Compared with international terminals in other Asian countries, Terminal 1 has consistently ranked at the bottom due to limited and outdated facilities, poor passenger comfort, and crowding (the Terminal has been operating above designed capacity for decades now). In this regard, transport authorities plan to give Terminal 1 a makeover; the plans were approved by President Benigno Aquino III. The makeover and upgrade includes the expansion of the arrival area, addition of parking spaces, and improvement of other terminal facilities.

The Transportation and Communications Department previously announced that as soon as Terminal 3 becomes fully operational, Terminal 1 was eyed by Cebu Pacific with the intention rehabilitating the terminal into an "Airport City" and serve as an exclusive terminal for their aircraft.

Terminal 1 started renovation in January 23, 2014 to upgrade and modernize the 32-year-old passenger terminal building and to be finalized and operational by May 2015. Divided into six phases with 40% completion on December 16, 2014, renovations include the installation of buckling restrained braces to strengthen the structural integrity of the building, and a much-needed facelift in the interior design of the terminal. Five international airlines, which are Delta Air Lines, KLM, Emirates, Singapore Airlines, and Cathay Pacific, have transferred to Terminal 3 from August 1 to October 1, 2014 in an effort to decongest the terminal.

Terminal 2 (Centennial Terminal)

Terminal 2 (NAIA-2) also known as Centennial Terminal, has an area of 75,000 square metres (810,000 sq ft), and is located at the Old MIA Road. It began construction on December 1995 and was inaugurated on May 1, 1999 and began operations in 1999. It has been named the Centennial Terminal in commemoration of the centennial year of the declaration of Philippine independence. The terminal was originally designed by Aéroports de Paris to be a domestic terminal, but the design was later modified to accommodate international flights. It has a capacity of 2.5 million passengers per year in its international wing and 5 million in its domestic wing. It is able to be modified to accommodate nine million passengers per year if needed.

Terminal 2 is exclusively used by Philippine Airlines and PAL Express for both its domestic and international flights. It is divided into two wings: the North Wing, for international flights, and the South Wing, which handles domestic operations. It currently has 12 air bridges. There are several cafes and restaurants in the Terminal post-security. There is also a small duty-free section in the north wing. The need for two more terminals was proposed by a Master Plan Review of the Airport that was undertaken in 1989 by Aéroports de Paris (ADP). The study was facilitated by means of a grant from the French Government. The review cost 2.9 million French francs and was submitted to the Philippine Government for evaluation in 1990.

In 1991, the French government granted a 30 million franc soft loan to the Philippine government, which was to be used to cover the Detailed Architectural and Engineering Design of the NAIA Terminal 2. ADP completed the design in 1992 and in 1994, the Japanese Government granted an 18.12 billion yen soft loan to the Philippine Government to finance 75% of the terminal's construction costs and 100% of the supervision costs. Construction of the Centennial Terminal began on December 11, 1995, and was formally turned over to the government of the Philippines on December 28, 1998. The terminal became fully operational by 1999.

On August 2014, DOTC formally announced the plan of expanding of Terminal 2. The plan also considers to build a structure interconnecting Terminals 1 and 2. It also includes the demolition of the unused Philippine Village Hotel complex beside the terminal awaiting the fixing of certain issues. A fuel depot located between the terminals will be transferred to the demolished area to give way for the expansion. The 26 comfort rooms are being renovated, in which 16 are located in a passenger movement area. 4 of the 7 Air handling units are being repaired and 21 additional units are expected to be installed to improve the temperature in the Terminal.

Terminal 3

Terminal 3 (NAIA-3) is the newest and biggest terminal in the NAIA complex. Construction started on it in 1997. Since construction, the terminal has been at the center with legal battles, red tape, and arbitration cases in both the United States and Singapore, as well as technical and safety concerns which delayed its opening several times. Terminal 3 is built on a 63.5-hectare (157-acre) lot that sits on Villamor Air Base. The terminal building has a total floor area of 182,500 square metres (1,964,000 sq ft) and has a total length of 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi). A four-level shopping mall connects the terminal and parking buildings. The parking building has a capacity of 2,000 cars and the outdoor parking area has a capacity of 1,200 cars. The terminal is capable of servicing 33,000 passengers daily at peak or 6,000 passengers per hour.

Its apron area has a size of 147,400 square metres (1,587,000 sq ft). The terminal has 34 air bridges and 20 contact gates with the ability of servicing 28 planes at a time. The terminal has 70 flight information terminals, 314 display monitors, and 300 kilometres (190 mi) of fiber optic I.T. cabling. It also has 29 restroom blocks. The departure area has five entrances all equipped with X-ray machines with the final security check having 18 X-ray machines. Its baggage claim has 7 large baggage carousels, each with its own flight display monitor.

The terminal officially opened to selected domestic flights from July 22, 2008 (initially Cebu Pacific only, then Philippine Airlines' subsidiaries Air Philippines and PAL Express), with Cebu Pacific international flights using it from August 1, 2008. All international operations, except for those from PAL, are intended to operate from Terminal 3 in the future, originally proposed to move in fourth quarter of 2010, however domestic carriers Cebu Pacific and Airphil Express (then Air Philippines and became PAL Express) remained the only tenants for the first two years of its operation. The vast majority of international flights still operate from Terminal 1 except for All Nippon Airways being the first foreign-based carrier to operate out of Terminal 3 started on February 27, 2011.

The terminal underwent a rehabilitation under the contractor Takenaka Corp. of Japan to improve its facilities and utilize the whole terminal. Previously, It only operates at half of its capacity awaiting the completion of the remaining system works. The terminal became fully operational on August 1, 2014, leading to the transfer of five international airlines to Terminal 3 to ease congestion at Terminal 1 starting with Delta Air Lines on that day, followed by KLM three days later on August 4, 2014, Emirates on August 15, 2014, Singapore Airlines on September 1, 2014, and Cathay Pacific on October 1, 2014.

Terminal 4 (Manila Domestic Passenger Terminal)

The Manila Domestic Passenger Terminal, also known as the Old Domestic Terminal and as Terminal 4, is the oldest of the four existing terminals, having been built in 1948. It is host to all domestic flights within the Philippines that are operated by Cebgo, among others. There are no jet bridges and passengers walk to and from the aircraft or are occasionally bussed. Twenty-six check-in counters are located in the terminal. The departure hall has the seating capacity for 969 people at a time. Several food stores and a book and magazine stall are also available. Five baggage carousels are located in the terminal whilst domestic airline offices, banks, restaurants and a grocery store are also located right beside the domestic passenger terminal. The Domestic Terminal is on the old Airport Road near the north end of Runway 13/31. An old hangar has since been annexed to the terminal.

Terminal 5 (Budget Terminal)

A Terminal 5 (NAIA-5) is currently in the design stage, and is planned be built beside Terminal 3, according to Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya, Jr. It is planned to service all low-cost carriers currently using Terminal 3, which in turn will be exclusively for international, non-LCC airlines.

Cargo

Philippine Airlines also maintains integrated airport ground handling services, cargo operations and a full catering service for it and other airlines. This is composed of PAL Airport Services, Philippine Airlines Cargo and the PAL Inflight Center.

Based at both the Centennial Terminal (Terminal 2) and International Cargo Terminal of Ninoy Aquino International Airport, PAL Airport Services offers ground handling for seven international airlines calling at Manila, while Philippine Airlines Cargo processes and ships an average of 200 tons of Manila publications and 2 tons of mail daily throughout the country and 368 tons of cargo abroad daily.

Runways

NAIA has a primary runway that is 3,737 metres (12,260 ft) long running at 061°/241° (designated as Runway 06/24), and a secondary runway that is 2,367 metres (7,766 ft) long, running at 136°/316° (designated as Runway 13/31). The primary runway was oriented at 06/24 in order to harness the Southeast and Southwest winds. Runway 13/31 is the runway of a former USAF base known today as Villamor Air Base. On May 26, 2012, The Runway 06/24 was partially closed for the replacement of the threshold lightning system on the end of Runway 06. The Runway 13/31 was closed to give way for its renovation/expansion and reopened on May 29, 2013. The runway upgraded its length from 1,900 metres (6,200 ft) to 2,367 metres (7,766 ft). Out of the 550 planes that fly on NAIA daily, 100 of them take the secondary runway. It mostly caters small private planes and acts as the main runway of the NAIA Terminal 4.

Third runway plan

There is a proposal according to Transportation Secretary Joseph Abaya that there will be a new runway adjacent to the existing Runway 06/24. The proposed runway has a length of 2,100 metres (6,900 ft) that could allow the landing of an Airbus A320 and increase the numbers of aircraft that the airport can handle from 40 planes per hour to about 60-70. However, according to the consultant hired by the government, building the runway may affect the current operations in the main runway and considering building another terminal to be less disruptive. Previously, The Japan International Cooperation Agency proposed Sangley Point in Cavite as the site of the new international airport serving Greater Manila Area meaning Sangley could serve as NAIA's 3rd runway until the long-term expansion is planned.

Airbus A380

NAIA is one of two airports in the Philippines that meet the infrastructure requirements for the Airbus A380, the other being Clark International Airport. The airport provides MRO services conducted by Lufthansa Technik Philippines. On October 11, 2007, NAIA hosted the debut of the Airbus A380 in the Philippines, after test aircraft MSN009 (registered as F-WWEA) landed on Runway 24. The test flight demonstrated that the A380 could land on existing runways in Asia and that the primary international airport of the Philippines can support aircraft as large as the A380.

However, according to MIAA General Manager Jose Angel Honrado, NAIA is currently not capable of handling regular commercial flights on the A380, as it would "cause a lot of inconvenience and delay for other scheduled flights" due to the airport's runway's and taxiway's centerline not reaching the "wing-tip-to-wing-tip clearance" safety requirement for the aircraft to operate at the airport on a regular basis. Therefore, no airlines have regular commercial flights that operate using this aircraft, although on October 7, 2014, Emirates' A380 flew to NAIA in a one-off commercial flight to commemorate the transfer of its operations to Terminal 3.

Lufthansa Technik Philippines

Lufthansa Technik Philippines (LTP) (formerly PAL Technical Center) was founded in 2000 as a joint venture of German firm Lufthansa Technik AG (51%) and Philippine aviation service provider MacroAsia Corporation (49%). Lufthansa Technik Philippines offers aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services to customers.

The company focuses on maintenance checks for the Airbus A320 family and A330/A340 aircraft. Seven hangar bays and workshops have been upgraded to the latest industry standards to support aircraft maintenance, major modifications, cabin reconfigurations, engine maintenance and painting for the Airbus A320 family, A330/A340, as well as the Boeing 747-400 and 777 aircraft. A new widebody hangar was recently added to meet the increasing demand for A330/A340 base maintenance checks.

The company also opened an Airbus A380 maintenance hangar to allow the aircraft to be repaired at the airport facility. Lufthansa Technik Philippines opens A380 maintenance hangar. In July 2012, A Qantas Airbus A380 completed its passenger cabin reconfiguration. It is one of the 12 Airbus A380 that was cabin reconfigured in the LTP Manila's facility. It also provides total technical and engineering support for the entire Philippine Airlines fleet and other international airline fleets as well.

Aviation Partnership (Philippines) Corporation

Aviation Partnership (Philippines) Corporation is SIA Engineering's third line maintenance joint venture outside Singapore. The joint venture of SIA Engineering Company (51%) and Cebu Pacific Air (49%) provides line maintenance, light aircraft checks and technical ramp handling as well as other services to Cebu Pacific Air and third-party airline customers.

DHL

The airport also serves as a gateway facility of the logistics company DHL. On March 12, 2006, the company opened its first quality control center at NAIA Terminal 3 to show support in its local market.

Philippine Airlines Facility

Philippine Airlines operates several aviation facilities in the Philippines. These include various training facilities for pilots and cabin crew, catering services, as well as a data center and an A320 flight simulator.

Philippine Airlines also maintains training facilities both for its pilots and other crew, composed of the PAL Aviation School, the PAL Technical Center, and the PAL Learning Center. The PAL Aviation School, located within the premises of Clark Civil Aviation Complex, provides flight training for its own operations and as well as for other airlines, the Philippine government and individual students. It currently operates ten Cessna 172Rs, five of which is fitted with a Glass Cockpit Garmin G1000 for student pilots' training with complete training facilities including simulators for the Airbus A320 and for turboprop aircraft (FRASCA 142). More than 5,000 students graduated from the PAL Aviation School, eventually joining the ranks of pilots at PAL and other airlines.

PAL Learning Center, located in Manila, serves as the integrated center for Philippine Airlines flight deck crew, cabin crew, catering, technical, ticketing and ground personnel. Located at the PAL Maintenance Base Complex in Pasay City, the PAL flight simulator, designed to simulate an Airbus A320, can duplicate all flight conditions complete with sound and visual system capability for day, dusk and night operations.

Inter-terminal transportation

The Manila International Airport Authority runs a shuttle bus system which connects all four terminals for passengers who have onward connections on flights departing from another terminal. Shuttle buses run every fifteen minutes during daytime hours, but passengers are required to clear immigration and customs to use the system.

Philippine Airlines operates an airside shuttle service between Terminals 2 and 3 for passengers connecting to onward PAL Express flights and vice versa.

Bus

Nine bus routes serve the airport from various points in Metro Manila, eight which go via Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA), and one via Circumferential Road 5 (C-5).

Jeepney

All four terminals are also served by local jeepney routes serving Parañaque and Pasay.

Rail

The airport is connected, albeit indirectly, by rail: Baclaran station of the Manila LRT Line 1 and Nichols station of the Philippine National Railways both serve the airport complex. An MIAA-operated shuttle bus also connects Terminal 3 to the Taft Avenue MRT Station.

In the future, with the extension of the existing LRT Line 1, a new station, Manila International Airport station, is set to connect the airport, albeit still indirectly, to the LRT-1. A four-station spur extension of the LRT Line 1, directly connecting Terminal 3 to Baclaran, is also proposed.

Road

The NAIA Expressway or NAIA Skyway is the first airport expressway and second elevated tollway in the Philippines starts from Sales Interchange of Metro Manila Skyway located at the boundary of Pasay City and Taguig City and ends at Diokno Boulevard located at Entertainment City in Parañaque City. The access ramps of the expressway connects with Terminals 1, 2 and 3 of the airport and also connects with Macapagal Boulevard for motorists and commuters going to/coming from Manila and Manila-Cavite Expressway or CAVITEx for motorists and commuters travelling to/from the province of Cavite.

Accidents and incidents