MANILA — The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) will soon start the rehabilitation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminal 2 to give passengers more convenience in preparation for the terminal realignment plan, which might also take place this year.
In an interview with the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Wednesday, MIAA Media Affairs Division head Jess Martinez said the rehabilitation will happen soon, and that MIAA will provide announcements to the public regarding this.
“We will let the public know. We will put announcements and signage if for example, they need to take alternative routes because of the rehabilitation, or if they need to allot extra time to be at the airport to avoid inconvenience,” he said.
Martinez said the rehabilitation aims to improve the whole terminal, and as preparation for the airline terminal realignment plan.
Terminal 2 is currently being used by flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) for its international and domestic flights.
Earlier, MIAA had targeted to beat the August 31 terminal realignment deadline given by Congress. The move aims to decongest the NAIA.
Terminal realignment aims to address the problem on passenger congestion and to rationalize flights, Martinez explained.
When this realignment takes effect, NAIA terminal 2 will be used solely for domestic flights.
Martinez earlier told PNA that NAIA terminal 2 was actually designed as a domestic airport, adding that it was not even designed to have a section for the Bureau of Immigration, as well as a Duty-Free store.
He also mentioned that Immigration queues there were always long.
With regard to the rehabilitation timeline, Martinez said MIAA could not determine how long this might take place.
“It (rehabilitation) might take more than a year, also depending on the situation. The rains, for instance, would affect the process. We also need to consider not to cause so much inconvenience to the passengers taking their flights,” he said, adding that MIAA will not be closing the terminal.
“We have to take note that rehabilitation will be done while there are regular operations (at the airport),” he said. (Ma. Cristina Arayata/PNA)
