IN just over a year since taking over the operations of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), San Miguel Corp. (SMC) has delivered both financial and operational gains, remitting more than P52 billion to the government and completing key upgrades for the country’s main gateway.
SMC’s airport arm, New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC), reported that since assuming operations in September 2024, the airport’s on-time flight performance has improved to record levels, reaching 92.29 percent in a single day, the highest in NAIA’s history.
Passenger traffic also climbed to 51.7 million, with 283,771 flights handled over the past year.
In a video report released on October 3, NNIC highlighted its first-year milestones under privatized management, which include visible improvements in passenger experience and the rollout of new technologies to streamline airport operations.
Among the completed upgrades are wider access roads, expanded curbside areas, additional parking spaces, and a dedicated Grab and Joyride hub at Terminal 3. Inside the terminals, travelers now benefit from 12,000 new gang chairs, 2,500 trolleys, upgraded air-conditioning units, and improved lighting.
To further ease passenger movement, biometric e-gates developed by Collins Aerospace are being installed, with 60 immigration e-gates expected to go live by December. A new Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) lounge at Terminal 1 will also open soon, following the successful launch of the Terminal 3 lounge, which has served over 500,000 OFWs since last year.
NNIC has also opened new international routes to Paris, Danang, Sapporo, and New Delhi, while sealing a partnership with Singapore’s SIA Engineering to strengthen NAIA’s aircraft maintenance and repair capabilities.
The company has committed P72 billion over five years for NAIA’s full modernization program, with P3.5 billion already spent in its first year. The plan includes the construction of Terminals 4 and 5, a direct link to the Metro Manila Subway, new retail and dining areas, and expanded runway capacity to 48 aircraft movements per hour, allowing NAIA to accommodate up to 62 million passengers annually once all projects are completed.
NNIC said it is also upgrading airport safety and efficiency systems, including widened taxiways, the installation of five new explosive detection systems, and the arrival of 34 new boarding bridges this year to reduce delays and improve turnaround time for airlines.
