International passenger traffic at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) increased by 2.6 percent year-on-year to 19.93 million from Jan. 1 to Oct. 22, 2026, despite disruptions to global aviation caused by conflict in the Middle East.
In a statement, NAIA operator New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC) said the airport handled 507,772 more international passengers than the 19.42 million recorded during the same period last year.
International traffic continued to grow in October, rising 2.05 percent to 1.39 million passengers in the first 22 days of the month.
“It’s encouraging to see international passenger traffic continuing to grow despite the challenges affecting aviation worldwide. It shows that demand for travel to and from the Philippines remains strong,” Lito Alvarez, NNIC general manager said.
“Our responsibility is to make sure NAIA can support that demand with better facilities, more reliable operations, and a better experience for passengers,” Alvarez also added.
International passengers accounted for 48.1 percent of NAIA’s total traffic, up from 46.6 percent a year earlier, while domestic passenger volume declined 3.4 percent to 21.49 million.
Airlines are expanding international services to Manila, with Air France resuming flights to the Philippines and Philippine Airlines (PAL) preparing to launch nonstop flights to Chicago in November, as well as to Delhi and Mumbai in December, pending regulatory approvals.
Delta Air Lines plans to launch nonstop flights between Los Angeles and Manila in March 2027, initially operating three times weekly before expanding to daily service in June, while Indian carrier IndiGo is also expected to introduce services to Manila.
In aviation data provider OAG’s 2026 Megahubs index, NAIA ranked sixth globally for international low-cost carrier connectivity.
The surge in international passenger traffic coincided with improved operational performance, with system-wide on-time performance rising to 81.07 percent from Jan. 1 to Oct. 22, 2026, compared to 77.92 percent during the same period last year.
The 3.15-percentage-point improvement comes as NNIC modernizes the airport while maintaining daily operations, recording average on-time arrivals of 82.09 percent and on-time departures of 80.05 percent.
NAIA handled a record 52 million passengers in 2025, exceeding its original design capacity of 35 million annually.
NNIC has spent over P6.8 billion on completed and ongoing airport improvements, including 78 automated immigration e-gates at Terminals 1 and 3, expanded curbside, transport, and parking facilities, improved wayfinding, and upgraded passenger waiting areas, lounges, restrooms, and boarding facilities.
Ongoing projects include upgrades to the control tower and its systems, improvements to baggage handling and power infrastructure, expanded aircraft handling facilities, and the upcoming operation of the new North Wing Bus Gate at Terminal 2 along with additional passenger boarding bridges.
Under its public-private partnership agreement, NNIC operates and modernizes NAIA while remitting a share of revenues to the government, with remittances reaching P83.6 billion as of Oct. 15, 2026, since taking over operations in September 2024.