2nd runway opened in NAIA for early morning flights

Terminal 1 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport: For upgrade. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said on Wednesday it has opened the secondary runway at Ninoy Aquino International Airport to handle early morning departures of aircraft.

In a statement, the CAAP said the opening of the newly renovated secondary runway 13/31 aimed to decongest air traffic at the premiere airport.

“The preferential use of runway 31 for early morning departures will allow the smooth and orderly departing of said flights which, [thus] eliminate queuing on ground for departing aircraft. This will also allow unhampered take-off and landing from the main runway (06/24) during this period,” the CAAP said.

The agency, however, added that the use of the secondary runway would depend on prevailing wind conditions.

NAIA registers an average of 550 aircraft movements daily, with about 450 planes using NAIA’s primary runway 06/24, which is 3,737 meters long and used by international flights.

On the other hand, an average of 100 planes take secondary runway 13/31 which is now 2,367 meters long from the previous 2,258 meters. The secondary runway was mostly used by small planes under the “general aviation” category and was the main runway of the old domestic airport, now NAIA Terminal 4.

The secondary runway, which was renovated in the mid-2000s to accommodate bigger and heavier aircraft, later served flights to and from nearby Terminal 3.