Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA , ; ; ; ), originally known as Manila International Airport (MIA), is the main international airport serving the Manila metropolitan area in the Philippines. Located between the cities of Pasay and Parañaque, about south of Manila proper and southwest of Makati, it is the main gateway for travelers to the Philippines and serves as a hub for AirSWIFT, Cebgo, Cebu Pacific, PAL Express, and Philippine Airlines. It is also the main operating base for Philippines AirAsia.
It was named after former Philippine Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., who was assassinated at the airport on August 21, 1983. NAIA is managed by the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), an agency of the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
NAIA and Clark International Airport in Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga, both serve the greater metropolitan area. Clark caters mainly to low-cost carriers because its landing fees are lower when former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo called for Clark to replace NAIA as the primary airport of the Philippines eventually. Two airports are under construction to reduce congestion at NAIA: the New Manila International Airport in Bulacan and Sangley Point Airport in Cavite City. The airport is operating beyond its designed capacity of 35 million passengers, clogging air traffic and delaying flights. It has been named as one of the worst airports in the world and in the Asia-Pacific. Plans for the airport's privatization, aimed at improving its facilities, is now underway.
History
Early history
Manila's original airport, Grace Park Airfield (also known as Manila North) in Grace Park, Caloocan (then a municipality of Rizal), opened in 1935. It was the city's first commercial airport and was used by the Philippine Aerial Taxi Company (later Philippine Airlines) for its first domestic routes.
In July 1937, Nielson Airport, located in the land in Makati, also then in Rizal, was inaugurated and served as the gateway to Manila; its runways now form Ayala Avenue and Paseo de Roxas. Following World War II and Philippine independence, Grace Park Airfield closed, while Nielson Airport continued to operate until it was decommissioned in 1948.
Airport operations were moved to the current site, Nichols Field, due to the flatter terrain, expanse of greenfield land, and the existing USAF base runway (Runway 13/31), which could be used for the airport. The original one-story bungalow terminal was built adjacent to the runway and serves as present-day Terminal 4.
In 1954, the airport's longer international runway (Runway 06/24) and associated taxiways were built, and in 1956, construction was started on a control tower and an international terminal building. The new terminal was designed by Federico Ilustre and was built on the site of Terminal 2. It was inaugurated on September 22, 1961. On January 22, 1972, a fire caused substantial damage to the original terminal, resulting in six casualties.
A slightly smaller terminal was built the following year. This second terminal would serve as the country's international terminal until 1981 when it was converted to a domestic terminal, upon the completion and opening of Terminal 1, a new, higher-capacity terminal. Another fire damaged the old international terminal in May 1985.
Renaming
On August 21, 1983, politician Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. was assassinated at the terminal's Gate 8 (now Gate 11) after returning to the Philippines from exile in the United States. Aviation Security Command (AVSECOM) personnel escorted Aquino out of the plane to the tarmac, where an agency van awaited. A single gunshot killed him. Several shots were fired, killing alleged assassin, Rolando Galman. Seconds later, gunfire erupted, causing chaos in the plane, the tarmac, and the terminal.
Four years after the incident, during the presidency of Ninoy's widow Corazon Aquino in 1987, Republic Act No. 6639 was enacted without executive approval, renaming the airport in Ninoy's honor. Presently, a body mark of Aquino's assassination is on display at the departures area, while the spot at Gate 8 where he was killed has a memorial plaque. Due to this event, Terminal 1 is nicknamed the "Ninoy Aquino Terminal."
Expansion
Plans for a new terminal were conceived in 1989 when the Department of Transportation commissioned the French company Aéroports de Paris to conduct a feasibility study to expand capacity. The recommendation was to build two new terminals. Construction of Terminal 2 began in 1995 and opened in 1999.
