NAIA lands record traffic in January

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February 7, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) facilitated its highest monthly passenger traffic in January, sustaining the momentum it picked up from last year’s travel boom.

Based on data from the New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC), the airport handled 4.96 million passengers in January, beating the previous high of 4.86 million in December.

NNIC, NAIA’s operator, said passenger movement in the airport kept on increasing following the peak demand during the Christmas season from Dec. 20 to Jan. 4, when it served close to 2.6 million passengers.

Likewise, NAIA turned in its highest daily passenger volume on Jan. 4, reaching 180,089, as Filipinos were returning home from their holiday trips.

NNIC said the airport is now capable of facilitating more travelers, thanks to the recent upgrades it implemented.

With this, international passenger traffic rose by eight percent to 2.42 million in January, another highest in history. Similarly, domestic passenger volume grew by three percent to 2.54 million.

NNIC said it has managed to keep airport operations stable even on days when the terminals are crowded, backed by new equipment that process passengers more efficiently.

Under NNIC’s watch, NAIA took in a new batch of electronic gates for biometric immigration to expedite passenger movement between check-in counters and boarding gates.

NNIC also improved coordination with airlines and regulators to supervise queues and manage flights, preventing operational breakdowns that may cause passenger inconvenience.

For 2026, NNIC is rushing to complete the new Terminal 4 within the first semester. Afterward, the operator plans to reorganize airline assignments to enhance runway efficiency.

Aside from this, the concessionaire is building a new terminal, to be located in the former site of the Philippine Village Hotel, to gear up the airport for future demand. NNIC is also opening new food halls to expand dining options.

NNIC is tasked to improve the country’s main gateway through a 15-year concession, extendable by 10 years, with the objective of increasing the capacity to 62 million passengers per annum and scaling up aircraft movement to 48 an hour.

To date, NNIC has remitted P62.7 billion to the government in line with its commitment to hand over 82.16 percent of revenues throughout the concession period.