• NAIA just logged its busiest day ever, with more than 171,000 passengers in a single day.
• Holiday traffic is tracking 5 percent higher year on year, even as the airport runs beyond design capacity.
• The surge is unfolding under private operations led by San Miguel Corp., barely a year into the takeover.
A record-breaking holiday rush is putting New NAIA Infra Corp.’s private management model to the test—and so far, it is holding up.
Passenger traffic at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) is projected to hit 2.55 million travelers from Dec. 20 to Jan. 4, about 5 percent higher than last year, alongside more than 13,700 flights.
The peak came on Dec. 20, when 171,306 passengers and 950 flight movements passed through the airport, the highest single-day totals in NAIA’s history.
Terminal 3 carried the heaviest load, handling over 90,000 passengers, or more than half of total traffic across all terminals.
Despite the volumes, NNIC said operations remained stable, citing tighter gate allocation, airside coordination, and ramp management during peak hours.
The operator credited close coordination among airlines, immigration, ground handlers, and air traffic controllers for keeping the system moving under pressure.
The surge comes as NAIA continues to operate beyond its original capacity, a long-standing constraint inherited by the private operator.
NNIC, backed by San Miguel Corp., said upgrades rolled out over the past year, including biometric e-gates, expanded passenger areas, and new food and waiting spaces, are starting to show results just as traffic hits new highs.
—Edited by Miguel R. Camus
