NAIA’s April air traffic highest in post-COVID era

THE Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) posted last month its highest passenger volume and flight movement in a single month since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) disclosed on Saturday.

MIAA acting general manager Bryan Co said the NAIA recorded 1,677,779 international passengers and 9,089 international flights in April, more than double compared to the 663,824 international passengers and 4,494 international flights in April last year.

“Summer is indeed a popular time for vacation and international travel, not only for Filipinos taking advantage of airlines’ promotional fares or using travel funds for flights they couldn't use due to the pandemic, but also for our international visitors wanting to see the Philippines,” Co said.

“After more than two years of closed borders, we expect the momentum of recovery to continue for tourism and the aviation industry," he added.

NAIA handled a total of 1,178,461 passengers overall in the first 10 days of April as air travelers took advantage of the long Holy Week break.

Combined with domestic travel figures, NAIA registered a total of 3,666,503 passengers and 22,816 flights in April 2023.

This represents a 50-percent rise from the 2,447,795 passengers in April 2022, and accounts for 86 percent of the 4,261,352 passengers in April 2019, the last full year before the pandemic.

Flight movement has also increased by 28 percent compared to the 17,774 flights in the same month last year, and is equivalent to 98 percent of the 23,327 flights in April 2019.