Update: Well, it looks like The Department of Transportation – Philippines announced that the new airline reassignments are NOT yet final, per their Facebook page:
I will do an updated post once we hear the final say from Philippine officials regarding the new terminal assignments.
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If you are traveling to or from Manila, better check with your airline and their new Terminal assignment at MNL. The Philippine Information Agency (PIA) recently mentioned on their social media page the following changes to airline terminal assignments at MNL (NAIA) effective August 31, 2018:
NAIA Terminal 1:
- Philippine Airlines PAL (PR) International Flights
- Etihad Airways (EY)
- Saudia Airlines (SV)
- Japan Airlines (JL)
- Thai Airways (TG)
NAIA Terminal 2:
- Philippine Airlines PAL (PR) Domestic Flights
- Cebu Pacific Air (5J) Domestic Flights
NAIA Terminal 3:
- Cebu Pacific Air (5J) International Flights
- All other International Carriers except for the five airlines assigned to Terminal 1
NAIA Terminal 4 (Domestic Terminal):
- All other Domestic Carriers except for Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific Air.
Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) spokesperson Connie Bungag told the media that the reasoning behind the reassignment is that NAIA Terminals 1 & 3 were designed to be International Terminals, while Terminals 2 & 4 were designed for domestic flights:
“Between now and August 31, the search for the best option is ongoing, but for now the option being looked into is this one. By September 1, the airlines should be where they should be,”
“Terminals 1 and 3 were designed as international terminals, while Terminals 2 and 4 were designed for domestic [flights], so that’s what we are intending [to] happen,”
Personally, I think this is a bad move since a huge bulk of passengers departing and arriving MNL are either OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers), Balikbayans (Filipino expats living abroad), and Tourists connecting to and from international flights. The NAIA terminal buildings are not interconnected nor are they easily walk-able from each other, so under the new airline assignments, international passengers will have to take either a taxi or the MIAA shuttle to get to their connecting flights.
Sadly the MIAA shuttle, though free of charge for connecting passengers is usually full and only come by once every hour (if that), so passengers realistically will need to take a taxi or use Grab (Uber recently sold their Southeast Asian business to Grab) if they have a short flight connection.
What are your thoughts on the new terminal assignments at MNL?
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