MANILA — The Manila Internal Airport Authority (MIAA) on Wednesday began the installation of glass aerobridges at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminal 1, to provide enhanced safety and convenience to passengers, replacing the decades-old passenger boarding bridges (PBB) with their modern equivalent.
An aerobridge functions in much the same way as the entry/exit tubes that connects the airport walkway to the aircraft.
NAIA 1’s brand new aerobridges are equipped with CCTV cameras and are designed with programmable motor controller, ground power unit (GPU)-ready, and are airconditioned, the MIAA management said.
The newer NAIA terminal 2 is already equiped with glass aerobridges.
The MIAA intends to replace all the steel-walled tubes in terminal 1 with glass aerobridges. “By the time that the project’s Phase 2 is finished, terminal 1 will only use glass glass aerobridges,” MIAA Media Affairs Division head, Jess Martinez, told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
This project includes the design manufacturing, factory testing, delivery and installation of customized units of apron-type and pedestal-type PBB.
The project’s Phase 1, which is currently being implemented, involves the replacement of nine units of boarding bridges. The Phase 1’s cost is almost PHP319 million, and is projected to be completed by December, according to Martinez.
Phase 2 will be up for bidding. It will include the replacement of an additional 11 units, and is targetted to start by the first quarter of 2019, Martinez added.
Meanwhile, MIAA authorities said the current PBBs in NAIA terminal 1 have been in operation for 33 years. Thus, these bridges are outdated and may pose a hazard.
Since airline companies rent these tubes for their operations, Martinez assured that the rental fee for the new aerobridges will remain unchanged. (Ma. Cristina Arayata/PNA)
