Passengers will have to brace themselves for busier operations at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 2 starting Nov. 5 with the reassignment of some flights as Terminal 4 undergoes renovation.
The renovation and safety upgrades will begin next month and are scheduled to be finished by February next year.
As a result, the flights of boutique airlines AirSwift and Sunlight Air, as well as Cebu Pacific’s regional brand Cebgo Inc., will be transferred to Terminal 2 where Philippine Airlines (PAL) operates its domestic flights.
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Currently, Terminal 4 handles about 2,900 passengers every day. These represent 2.23 percent of the gateway’s daily passenger volume.
“We appreciate your understanding and cooperation during this transition,” PAL said in an advisory.
The flag carrier advised passengers to allot at least three hours prior to departure for domestic flights.
“Check-in online and arrive early at the airport so you can have extra time to undergo airport procedures,” PAL said.
In addition, the Lucio Tan-led airline reminded the public to “pay attention to public announcements and signs within the terminal for the latest information.”
The renovation at Terminal 4 is in line with New Naia Infra Corp.’s (NNIC) mandate of rehabilitating the congested airport, which has been receiving complaints from passengers through the years because of operational inefficiencies.
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In the short term, the San Miguel group also wants to install power redundancy; repair existing walkalators, escalators and elevators; and upgrade X-ray machines.
The airline transfers are also just the beginning of the proposed terminal reassignments in the future.
NNIC previously said the terminal reassignment would improve the efficiency of runway use, allowing the airport to accommodate more flights. Under the concession agreement with the government, the consortium is tasked with increasing the aircraft movements per hour from 41 flights to 48 flights.
Based on NNIC’s proposal, Terminal 2 will only service domestic flights.