BUSINESS tycoon Ramon S. Ang, president of the New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC), recently met with the airport media, where he poured out his sentiments about people automatically blaming the NNIC whenever something wrong crops up in any part of the NAIA terminals.
The thing is, not all of the agencies operating within the premier airport are under the NNIC or even the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA).
Among many others, those that do not fall under the range of authority either of the NNIC or the MIAA include the Bureau of Immigration, Bureau of Customs. Bureau of Quarantine, the PNP-Avsegroup, National Bureau of Investigation, PDEA, etc. These are government agencies that only happen to operate within the NAIA but as such, they are independent entities and are not controlled by the NNIC.
Lamentably, no matter how often the airport management explains, people don’t seem to get it. If they encounter a problem with the airline, they blame the management — now the NNIC.
The same thing if they encounter problems with immigration or customs.
The NNIC now gets the blame, automatically. Even delays in flights are now being blamed on the NNIC even if such is caused by weather.
Ang says the 76-year-old airport has developed issues or problems that have built up over the decades and cannot be solved overnight.
Just the same, he takes pride that the NNIC is moving as fast as it can to address both immediate and major issues and putting all its resources into ensuring travelers will have an improved overall experience as we progress since it took over management of the NAIA as private sector operator two months ago.
These improvements, which include airside enhancements, landside developments and infrastructure upgrades, are part of the initial phase of NNIC’s larger, multi-year rehabilitation and modernization plan for NAIA.
Also present to help enlighten the media were NNIC manager Lito Alvarez, special adviser Cesar Chiong, as well as San Miguel Corporation VP for Special Communications Mary Jane Llanes, Media Affairs Manager Jayson Brizuela and Senior Media Officer Nate Barretto.
According to Ang, NAIA has long been operating way beyond its intended capacity of 35 million passengers per year. It has been serving around 45 million per year and this year, the number is expected to reach more than 50 million.
Over the years, this has taken a huge toll on the already aging facilities and equipment at NAIA, leading to inevitable breakdowns and inconvenience for passengers,” Ang said, saying the NNIC’s focus is to enhance the passenger experience, ease congestion and ensure all facilities operate reliably.
The various airside improvements implemented so far include the renovation of NAIA Terminal 4, the oldest passenger terminal, which began on November 6, as scheduled; increase in the number of passenger boarding bridges (PBBs) in operation with six designed for wide-body aircraft reopened; conversion of two existing PBBs at Terminal 3 into “swing gates” to accommodate both domestic and international flights; procurement of a new explosive detection system (EDS) which was completed in June 2024, before NNIC’s official takeover.
The NNIC also announced that the Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) implementation of a “fly-to-gate” biometric passenger processing system is underway while internet connectivity has been significantly improved at NAIA.
Through partnerships made with service providers, passengers are now enjoying 50-60 Mbps average speeds, with up to 115 Mbps peak speeds. Free use has been extended to three hours, with no personal information required.
Ang said the NNIC has freed up approximately 1,800 parking slots, significantly improving traffic flow within the airport which accommodates about 140,000 passengers daily, while road network improvements are ongoing, including the expansion of roads and the addition of new toll exits from the NAIA Expressway to improve accessibility.
Curbside enhancements are currently being implemented to ease congestion and improve the convenience of passengers and NNIC has designated clear zones for pick-up, drop-off and taxis and is expanding the arrival curbsides across terminals to better accommodate traffic.
Terminal 1’s curbside will be widened from 3 to 8 lanes, Terminal 2 from 4 to 8 lanes and Terminal 3 from 8 to 12 lanes.
In July, NNIC also completed construction of and opened, the new Overseas Filipino Workers’ (OFW) lounge at the NAIA Terminal 3 which provides ample seating, free Wi-Fi, food and drinks.
To ensure a reliable power supply and improve power quality throughout the airport, NNIC, he said, has undertaken two major initiatives: It has partnered with Meralco to install a 115KV dedicated substation for NAIA to enhance the airport’s electrical distribution system and support its modernization and to further improve power reliability, NNIC partnered with Mserv to install a 6.12 MW uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system for Terminal 3. This will provide backup power to essential systems, including airfield lighting.
NNIC said it is also working with airline stakeholders to implement new terminal assignments in the first quarter of 2025 to reduce congestion in high-traffic terminals particularly Terminal 3 and utilize it for its original purpose — international operations. Ang said this will help improve operational efficiency and optimize runway utilization, leading to fewer delays and better on-time performance for the airlines.
Meanwhile, NNIC has made a substantial upfront payment of P30 billion to the government as part of the concession agreement. In addition, the company has commenced regular annuity payments, with P1.58 billion paid for the period from September 2024 to June 30, 2025, even as it has also invested P420 million to ensure a smooth transition for employees, including signing bonuses for MIAA and LSERV personnel.
“These financial commitments demonstrate NNIC’s dedication to the long-term success of NAIA and its commitment to supporting both the government and our employees,” Ang said.
It has only been two months since the new operator assumed management of NAIA. It has been a very busy transition period and as expected, there have been many challenges and more are yet to come as time goes by.
Is the NNIC living up to the challenge? At the rate things are going, Ang assures they are up for it.
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