SC urged to suspend NAIA PPP to cut fees

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MANILA, Philippines — A second petition to suspend the P170.6-billion deal to rehabilitate the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) has been filed before the Supreme Court (SC), with the hope of granting relief to airlines and passengers in the midst of rising costs.

The petition, filed by lawyers Rico Domingo and Caesar Oracion, is urging the SC to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the private turnover of NAIA to grant the government the power to adjust service fees.

Domingo, convenor of the Ugnayan ng mga Lumalaban sa Airport Privatization, said the petition was made to grant relief to Filipinos in the midst of price hikes.

NAIA, as a private airport, was exempted from lowering passenger and terminal fees as ordered by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines. The agency is cutting airport fees in gateways under its jurisdiction to soften the blow of rising prices on consumers.

However, NAIA was left out of that relief measure, even though it accounts for nearly 80 percent of Philippine air travel. Domingo attributed this to the P170.6-billion concession to operate and maintain NAIA awarded by the government to the New NAIA Infrastructure Corp. (NNIC).

“These recent developments show how the NAIA concession deal has become the single biggest stumbling block to an effective, responsive and speedy regulation, especially in times of crisis,” Domingo said.

The petitioners said since NNIC took over NAIA in 2024, landing and takeoff fees have tripled; airport parking rates went up by 14-fold; and aircraft tacking fees increased by 60 percent.

Directly billed on travelers, the passenger service charge also swelled by 73 percent to P950 for international flights and by 95 percent to P390 for domestic trips.

The petitioners said Filipinos would feel the pang of higher airfares by April, when airlines can start collecting a fuel surcharge of as much as P6,208.98 to stem losses from escalating fuel prices.

An earlier petition also filed by Domingo and Oracion was submitted to the SC in May 2025. The petition questioned the legality of the public-private partnership for NAIA, including the adjusted fees under Administrative Order 1 of the Manila International Airport Authority.

NNIC, led by San Miguel Corp., is tasked to operate and maintain NAIA and gear it up for future demand.

NNIC is mandated to expand passenger capacity to 62 million per annum, from 35 million, and increase aircraft movement from 40 to 48 an hour.