The Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) will implement an airline reshuffle in the first quarter of 2025, aiming to ease passenger congestion. As part of this strategy, NAIA operator New NAIA Infrastructure Corp. (NNIC) plans to move Cebu Pacific’s domestic flights to Terminal 2, transforming Terminal 3 into an exclusive international hub.
NNIC general manager Angelito Alvarez noted that discussions are ongoing with Cebu Pacific to assess Terminal 2’s capacity for accommodating all its domestic schedules. If space is limited, NNIC is open to relocating a portion of Cebu Pacific’s domestic network to Terminal 2 while maintaining operations at other terminals.
In addition, AirAsia Philippines will need to relocate its domestic flights once Terminal 4 reopens after a P200-million renovation project, expected to conclude in early 2025. The airport operator aims to prioritize larger aircraft by reallocating slots and moving all turboprop operations out of NAIA to optimize runway use. This plan could see boutique carriers such as AirSWIFT and Sunlight Air shifting their operations to Clark International Airport.
Under a P170.6-billion agreement, NNIC is mandated to increase runway efficiency at NAIA, boosting aircraft movements to 48 per hour from 40 and expanding passenger capacity to 62 million annually. Improvements also include replacing outdated explosive detection systems and expanding curbside lanes at Terminals 1, 2, and 3 to address traffic congestion. Since September, NNIC, led by San Miguel Corp., has been rolling out changes to enhance the travel experience at NAIA.
