MIAA logs 125k passengers daily; likely to reach 3.5M passengers by Dec-end

MORE Filipinos are joining the holiday rush.

The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said Friday that there are approximately 125,000 passengers on average using the country’s airport, and the volume of passengers is expected to breach 3.5 M during the peak season.

“What we really expect is this kind of level, at around 125,000 passengers, will continue until at least the end of this year,” MIAA senior assistant general manager Bryan Co said in Filipino during the Malacañang’s Laging Handa public briefing.

“We expect this to continue, and we think that by the end of December, we will log around 3.2 to 3.5 million passengers using our NAIA terminals.”

MIAA said there were an average of 120,000 passengers daily in November, and this tally surged last Monday as Filipinos, both tourists and Overseas Filipino Workers, started using the airports going to their provinces.

The influx of passengers is expected to last until the end of December, according to aviation authorities.

OFWs from the United States, Canada, and the Middle East recorded the most number of returning Filipinos for the holidays, said the MIAA.

The airport authority also noted that they are recording “a lot of passenger traffic compared to the past two years” and said the current volume is 95 percent of the pre-COVID levels.

MIAA said they have met with three major airlines operating in the country to prevent delays in releasing passengers’ baggage.

“We’re working with the airlines to make sure that the check-in counters open in time because we have to schedule them properly since we really have a lot of different flights,” said Co.

Co said that airline companies, including the Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, and AirAsia, were “advised to open the counters at least if they can afford it 24/7 considering the continuous number of flights they have to accommodate these passengers.”

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Banner Photo Credit: Ninoy Aquino International Airport MIAA

Jericho Zafra

Jericho has written for various national and international publications in print and online. He also specializes in journalism research particularly gender and religion.