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Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) is seeing higher passenger volumes in the first three days of the Holy Week period compared to last year’s figures, as operations at the country’s primary gateway remain efficient.
New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC), the private operator of NAIA, said April 13 or Palm Sunday recorded the highest traffic so far with 150,511 passengers, an 11.77-percent increase from the previous year’s 134,660.
Holy Monday on April 14 saw 142,560 passengers flock to NAIA, a 14.52-percent hike from 124,481 passengers in 2024.
Meanwhile, Holy Tuesday on April 15 has logged 140,407 passengers, a 9.65-percent jump from 128,047 of the year before.
The Holy Week, which runs until Easter Sunday on April 20, is projected to draw over 1.18 million passengers at NAIA this year—up 14 percent from last year’s 1.04 million passengers.
In total, the three-day period recorded 433,478 passengers.
Despite higher passenger traffic, NNIC said operations at the airport “have so far been smooth” as measures put in place to handle the surge are working as planned.
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) earlier deployed additional officers across the three terminals to ease congestion, resulting in shorter queues and faster processing for outbound passengers.
NNIC, meanwhile, deployed more traffic personnel to manage car traffic going in and out of the terminals.
The operator has also opened passenger assistance booths, staffed by airport personnel, medical teams, and uniformed officers, to support the needs of passengers.
Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Vince Dizon conducted an inspection at NAIA Terminal 3 at around 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday, where processing was observed to be efficient despite being a known peak hour for departures.
Since then, monitoring reports have indicated that processing remains smooth while passenger flow has been steady.
“This has been a strong start to the Holy Week period. We are especially grateful for the leadership and quick response of the [DOTr] and the [BI], particularly in deploying more officers during peak hours,” said NNIC President Ramon S. Ang.
Ang also expressed gratitude to the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), the DOTr’s Office for Transportation Security (OTS), Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group (PNP-ASG), the Bureau of Customs (BOC), the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ), and airline stakeholders for making sure that passenger experience is smooth.
“We also like to thank in advance all the men and women working across NAIA—our frontliners, operations teams, security, maintenance, and support staff — who continue to put in long hours and make personal sacrifices to keep things running during one of the busiest times of the year,” said Ang.
“Even as the rush continues, their hard work behind the scenes is already making a positive difference for our passengers,” he added.
NNIC, a consortium headed by Ang’s San Miguel Corp. (SMC), said the increase in passenger volume in NAIA is a strong indicator of a rising travel demand in the country.
It noted that a higher number of passengers means more activity across tourism, hospitality, transport, and retail—boosting the economy and strengthening the broader workforce nationwide.
