NAIA passenger volume up in 1st half

PASSENGER VOLUME at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) surged by 4.73% for the first semester of the year to 26.74 million, thanks to the sustained growth of domestic travel.

According to the report released by the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) on Sunday, domestic passengers climbed by 6.25% to 14.27 million in the six months ending in June, from the 13.43 million seen in the same period last year.

International passenger traffic rose by 6.76% to 12.47 million from 11.68 million in the same period in 2024.

For the six-month period, MIAA logged a total of 147,813 flights. For this year, MIAA has said it is expecting passenger volume at the main gateway to grow by up to 30% this year due to booming travel demand.

For the second quarter, NAIA’s total passenger traffic increased to 13.69 million, up by 5.55% from the 12.97 million in the second quarter of 2024.

In 2024, NAIA logged a passenger volume of 50.26 million, up 10.9% and 4.9% higher than the total booked in the last full pre-pandemic year.

A private operator took over operations at NAIA in September, and announced plans for road expansion and curbside enhancements, terminal upgrades, and terminal reassignments.

The NAIA upgrades are expected to boost its capacity to about 62 million passengers per annum from the current 35 million. — Ashley Erika O. Jose