NAIA Terminal 2 to be used exclusively for domestic flights by July: MIAA official
The Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2 is set to be used exclusively for domestic flights by July, a Manila International Airport Authority official said on March 21.
"By doing this, we are making the terminal design more efficient and according to what it is intended for," said Bryan Co, MIAA senior assistant general manager, during the Laging Handa briefing.
Based on its size and existing facilities, Terminal 2 was originally designed for use only in domestic flights. To date, NAIA Terminal 2 is being used exclusively by the flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) for international flights and select domestic flights.
Co said PAL flights to and from the United States, Canada, Middle East were already moved to NAIA Terminal 1 last December. The remaining international flights will be moved there by June 16 so when July arrives, all Terminal 2 flights are already domestic.
Aside from PAL, Terminal 2 will also be used by Philippines AirAsia.
The move will augment manpower in NAIA Terminals 1 and 3, while increasing capacity of Terminal 2 by 20% to 25%. According to Co, immigration officials from T2 will be redeployed to T1 and T3 to augment manpower requirements, and help address incidents of offloading due to the long queues.
Co added that they're also expecting some 140,000 passengers to flock to NAIA on a daily basis during the Holy Week, which starts on April 2.
"Hindi lang ito hanggang April," he noted. "Extended ito hanggang May dahil summer vacation," adding that several countries like China, Japan, and South Korea have opened their borders in the past few months.
"This 2023, talagang full year nang alam nating we're back to almost pre-pandemic levels [of travelers]," Co said.
Citing airport data, he said there were 48 million passengers in 2019, 7 million in 2021, and 31 million in 2022. This year, they're expecting 41 to 43 million passengers.