Passengers at Naia. (INQUIRER PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — The number of domestic and international travelers flying in and out of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), the country’s premier gateway, surged by 23 percent in November to 3.8 million, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) reported on Sunday.
The November passenger count included 2 million domestic and 1.8 million international passengers, and was 97 percent of the total recorded travelers in November 2019, the last year not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, MIAA said.
The airport also exceeded both 2022 and 2019 records of plane movement after a total of 24,120 commercial, cargo, and utility flights (14,520 domestic and 9,600 international) were tallied in November, or 13-percent higher than the November 2022 level and 7 percent more than the record in the same month in 2019.
Fewer delays
“The exceptional OTP of our major local airlines, accounting for 81 percent of all flights at Naia, is truly commendable. This impressive performance not only demonstrates their dedication to operational excellence but also significantly enhances the overall efficiency of our airport system,” Co pointed out.
MIAA likewise monitored an improvement in the on-time performance (OTP) of commercial flights, with MIAA officer in charge Bryan Co highlighting the top three local carriers: Philippine Airlines (including PAL Express) recording an average OTP of 84 percent in November, followed by Cebu Pacific Air (including Cebgo) at 83 percent, and AirAsia Philippines at 77 percent.
Ethiopian Airlines topped the list of foreign airlines’ OTP rankings with a perfect score of 100 percent on 34 flights, followed by Japan’s ZipAir with 98 percent on 60 flights.
“Other airlines in the top 10 include All Nippon Airways, Jeju Air, Air China, Kuwait Airways, Saudia, Etihad Airways, Singapore Airlines and United Airlines,” MIAA said.
Series of glitches
But a number of disruptions hit Naia operations since the start of the year.
On Jan. 1, around 56,000 passengers were affected when more than 300 flights were either canceled, diverted or delayed on New Year’s Day after power outages downed air navigation facilities of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.
On Labor Day, at least 9,391 passengers were affected when several domestic and international flights were either canceled or delayed, again following a power outage.
On June 9, yet another power outage struck Naia Terminal 3 because of a lapse during an electrical audit process when one of the electrical crew left a test cable intact.
The airport was likewise hounded by theft issues and in September, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said that 19 personnel of the Office for Transportation Security, an attached agency of the Department of Transportation, had been fired after they were caught stealing from passengers.