IF you’ve flown out of NAIA Terminal 1 in the last couple of decades, you’re probably familiar with its long-standing diagonal drop-off setup — a layout that’s been part of many travelers’ goodbye routines since the ’90s.
But change is in the air.
In a move to improve both safety and flow, the New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC) has officially redesigned the Terminal 1 curbside into a parallel drop-off layout, replacing the aging diagonal design.
The new format is expected to streamline passenger unloading while minimizing risks for both travelers and drivers.
“This change is part of the ongoing efforts to make curbside drop-offs safer and more efficient for passengers and drivers alike,” NNIC said in a statement.
The layout change is just one of the many steps being taken to reassess NAIA’s infrastructure, especially in light of the recent tragic accident where a vehicle crashed into the terminal’s departure area, killing two people — a man and a child — and injuring four others.
Following the incident, security bollards installed across all terminals since 2019 are under audit to ensure they meet proper safety standards.
Originally installed at a cost of P8 million, these barriers are now at the center of an investigation ordered by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who called for a review of their procurement and specifications.
Safety may not always be visible, but for NAIA’s busy terminals, every design choice — from the angle of a driveway to the depth of a bollard — matters.
