The airport authority has made the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 4 all-domestic, completing on Saturday the transfer of international and jetliner flights to a bigger terminal.
Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Jose Angel Honrado said that the reactivation of the secondary runway 13/31 facilitated the relocation of Air Asia Zest international flights as well as 24 Cebu Pacific Air-Tiger (CEB-Go) Airways flights to NAIA Terminal 3.
Likewise, 20 Cebu Pacific turbo propeller or small aircraft, on flights mostly to Caticlan, Busuanga, Laoag, and Naga, were transferred from the NAIA Terminal 3 to the now all-domestic Terminal 4.
Honrado pointed out that the movement of flights would maximize the use of runway 13/31 and ease aircraft traffic at the NAIA, adding, “Flight movements can now take place concurrently on both runways.”
The 400-hectare NAIA has two perpendicular runways: primary runway 06/24; and 13/31, which used to be a secondary runway. The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has been asking the MIAA to convert NAIA’s 13/31 into an active runway.
As a result of the transfer, Air Asia flights to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Shanghai, China are now at the NAIA terminal 3.
CEB-Go jet liners transferred from NAIA terminal 4 to Terminal 3 include flights to the cities of Bacolod, Butuan, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, General Santos, Iloilo, Kalibo, Legazpi, Puerto Princesa, Roxas, Tacloban, and Tagbilaran.
CEB flights utilizing turbo-propeller or small aircraft are now at the NAIA Terminal 4.
According to Honrado’s spokesperson David de Castro, the new scheme basically involves the transfer of large aircraft, such as Airbus or jetliners, to the NAIA Terminal 3 and the relocation of small airplanes to Terminal 4 from Terminal 3.
De Castro pointed out that the terminal swap was completed on Saturday by the airline firms, which set the August 15 deadline and gave themselves ample time to prepare for the transfer.