The Manila International Airport Authority has reported a significant increase of air travelers traffic at the country’s main gateway in 2018.
Foreign and local airlines carried 45,082,544 passengers in 2018, a seven percent increase from 42,022,484 passengers that have arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in 2017.
Arriving and departing international travelers went up by 22,958,026 in 2018, compared to 20,957,571 in 2017.
The number of travelers in domestic destination last year has also reached new heights.
A record of arriving and departing passengers in 2018 rose to 22,124,518, outpacing the 21,064,913-passenger volume growth in 2017.
According to data of Department of Tourism, foreign arrivals on October 2018 increased by 8.5 percent to 4.85 million in the first eight months despite a decline in a number of top source market.
Supplementing the passenger influx in NAIA were returning Filipinos (balikbayans) and overseas Filipino workers who were traveling to several local destinations in the Philippines.
The airport authority is also expecting more passenger traffic this year as new international routes were mounted by local airlines.
In March, NAIA made it to the top 10 most improved airports in the 2018 World Airport Awards by Skytrax.
NAIA listed number 10 in the survey while Fiumicino Airport in Rome bagged the top spot followed by Perth Airport in Australia and Calgary International Airport in Alberta, Canada.
Completing the list of 10 most improved airports were Taiwan Taoyuan, Athens, Nadi, Monreal, Moscow Sheremetyevo and Houston Intercontinental.
“We are only as good as our last accomplishment. The bigger challenge now is how to sustain it,” said MIAA general manager Eddie Monreal.
He further expressed gratitude to the millions of passengers who took time to share their NAIA experience through the survey.
“Their testimonies serve as inspiration for us to believe that change is not impossible even in the midst of trials.”
Monreal also said that the greater recognition goes to the men and women of MIAA, who said, without whose commitment and cooperation, NAIA will not be able to achieve its small but meaningful transformation.
In October 2017, online travel site Guide to Sleeping in Airports had also excluded NAIA in the list of the worst in the world.
Upon assumption of office in July 2016, Monreal instituted numerous reforms and improvements to better serve the passengers and users of the four terminals of the country’s premier airport.