The country’s main aviation gateway opened 2026 with a milestone, as the Ninoy Aquino International Airport recorded its busiest month on record, underscoring the sustained rebound of air travel and the early impact of operational reforms under private management.
Private operator New NAIA Infra Corp. said a total of 4.96 million passengers passed through NAIA in January, edging past the previous high of 4.86 million logged in December 2025.
The figure cements January as the single busiest month in the airport’s history, traditionally a period marked by post-holiday returns and overseas labor traffic.
Passenger flows were buoyed by the tail end of the Christmas and New Year travel rush, with nearly 2.6 million travelers moving through the airport between December 20, 2025 and January 4, 2026.
Traffic peaked on January 4, when 180,089 passengers were recorded in a single day, the highest daily throughput ever handled by the airport.
International travel remained the main growth engine. NAIA processed 2.42 million international passengers during the month, an 8.16 percent increase from a year earlier and the highest monthly international volume the airport has ever seen.
Domestic travel also posted gains, with passenger numbers reaching 2.54 million, up 3.16 percent year-on-year, reflecting steady demand across major inter-island routes.
Despite the surge, NNIC said airport operations remained stable throughout the month, attributing the performance to a series of operational upgrades rolled out over the past year.
These include terminal improvements, the expanded use of biometric immigration e-gates and passenger processing systems, and tighter coordination among airlines, government agencies, and service providers to better manage queues, flight schedules, and passenger flow.
The January figures also highlight the fiscal contribution of the airport’s public-private partnership. NNIC said it has remitted P62.7 billion to the national government since assuming NAIA operations in September 2024, in line with its concession agreement.
As passenger volumes continue to climb, the operator said it remains focused on balancing capacity growth with service reliability at one of Southeast Asia’s most heavily used urban airports.
