NAIA passenger volume nears pre-COVID level

Domestic passenger volume at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) exceeded the nine million mark in the first semester, with airline firms back to full capacity on their local routes.

According to the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), domestic passenger traffic, made up of arrivals and departures, in the NAIA grew fourfold to 9.11 million in the first half from 2.03 million a year ago.

Likewise, the MIAA said domestic flight volume nearly tripled to 67,527 from 23,489 during the period in review, as airline firms resumed local routes to service the resurgent demand for leisure travel.

Similarly, the MIAA said international passenger traffic more than tripled to 3.38 million in the January to June period from the 987,328 registered a year ago. However, unlike the domestic side, international passenger volume has yet to recover to the pre-crisis level of 12.72 million.

The MIAA said international flight traffic went up by over half to 24,656 from 16,317 during the periodic review with the reopening of foreign routes, especially around Southeast Asia.

In spite of the growth, forecasts on international passenger traffic remain pessimistic, particularly for countries in Asia and the Pacific like the Philippines.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), for one, projects airline firms in the region to book the largest losses this year due to the absence of air travel to and from China.

“Due to the strict border restrictions and a zeroCOVID policy in China, Asia Pacific remains the weakest region and will post the highest losses in 2022. This is, of course, reflected in the EBIT margins per region,” IATA said.

IATA also said ticket bookings in the Asia-Pacific region have dropped below the global average since May 2021, amounting to roughly 46 percent only of pre-pandemic levels. It projects ticket bookings to trend downward if China prolongs its extreme travel restrictions.

On the domestic end, airline firms are taking advantage of loosened restrictions to reopen local routes and capture the recovering demand.

Last year domestic passenger volume in the NAIA dipped by one percent to 5.56 million, while international passenger traffic fell by 59 percent to 2.26 million as the Philippines reverted back and forth to lockdowns to contain the spread of new variants.