Security bollards at NAIA to be audited after deadly crash

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

May 7, 2025 | 3:57pm

MANILA, Philippines — The New NAIA Infra Corp. said it will reinforce existing security bollards and redesign terminal drop-off zones at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport following the deadly car crash at Terminal 1 over the weekend.

In a statement on Tuesday, May 6, the NAIA operator said it will audit all security bollards to determine where reinforcements — such as deeper foundations or structural upgrades — are needed for the protective barriers that were originally installed in 2019.

A four-year-old girl and a man died on Sunday after a sports utility vehicle (SUV) plowed into a crowd and crashed near the entrance of Terminal 1. At least four others were injured.

The driver of the vehicle, according to a statement by the Land Transportation Office, had stepped on the brakes instead of a gas pedal, causing his vehicle to accelerate into the west departure curbside area.

The crash prompted engineers of the NNIC and the Manila International Airport Authority to inspect the bollards that were meant to prevent the vehicle crash on Monday.

What they found was that the bollards were not buried deep enough into the concrete, supposedly because the arrival area was located directly beneath.

Revising passenger drop-off layout

On Tuesday, the NNIC announced it would also modify the current diagonal passenger drop-off layout at Terminals 1 and 2 departure areas to a safer, parallel unloading configuration. 

This redesign, together with the planned bollard reinforcements, aims to "provide an added layer of protection for passengers, well-wishers, airport staff, and others who regularly access the terminal curbside."

“While safeguards were already in place, we recognize that there is always room to improve,” the NNIC said in its statement. "We are taking concrete steps to help ensure incidents like this do not happen again."

NNIC assumed operations of NAIA in September 2024 through a public-private partnership. 

The installation of the bollards in all four NAIA terminals cost the government around P8 million, according to a 2019 MIAA accomplishment report. The project was intended to "promote terminal safety by preventing the vehicles from ramming into the walls of the terminals at the curbside parking area."