The NAIA Terminal 4 is now the official terminal of all domestic low-cost carriers.
After nearly two years stay at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3, Cebu Pacific's CebGo, AirAsia Philippines and AirSWIFT Airlines has returned to Terminal 4.
The operator of NAIA, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), has reopened the Manila airport's oldest facility to serve the traveling public after its domestic operations were suspended in 2020 due to Covid-19 pandemic.
MIAA has decided to close NAIA Terminal 4 in a bid to minimize airport management costs and designated NAIA Terminal 1 as the only operational passenger terminal building for all flights.
Since the end of April 2020, the MIAA has lost substantial revenue due to travel restrictions imposed here and abroad,the suspension of domestic and international destinations by local and international airlines in mid-March 2020.
Also, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) in 2020 deferred the payment for landing and takeoff, parking fees of local airlines operating at NAIA to cushion the catastrophic economic impact wrought by the Covid-19.
The three carriers were subsequently transferred to Terminal 3 in June 2020 after the DOTr allowed them to operate special and sweeper flights to ferry local passengers bound for provinces, and to pick up foreign tourists who were stranded in different places of the country back to Manila.
The local and foreign passengers were unable to catch their flight to and from provinces after the Philippine government implemented the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in March 2020 prompting the suspension of NAIA's local and international flights.
On Monday, CebGo management said 27 domestic flights have already transferred from NAIA Terminal 3 to Terminal 4.
Cebu Pacific management earlier said that
"as travel protocolhas become easier, travel has picked up right in time for the summer season. With the rise in passenger traffic, Cebu Pacific and CebGo are reminding passengers to go early to the airport so they can fly easy with CEB."
While AirAsia Philippines, another budget airline, said they are flying at least 50 sectors per day.
Sector means a flight between two points, or flight between any two places.
AirSWIFT Airlines, meanwhile, has eight destinations - Basco, Batanes; Busuanga, Clark, El Nido in Palawan; Mactan-Cebu; NAIA; and Sicogon Island in Iloilo.
AirAsia Philippines spokesman Steve Dailisan said the reopening of Terminal 4 is
"an indication of an improved passenger traffic. People are now more confident in traveling and it's about time that we support local economies particularly tourism. Our multi-layered approaches to safety are in place. AirAsia is very much ready to welcome the summer demand."
The MIAA hoped that Monday's reopening of Terminal 4 may bring back to 15,000 daily average passengers, the record of travelers at Terminal 4 before the Covid-19 pandemic.
MIAA General Manager Ed Monreal said bulk of domestic passengers at the NAIA Terminal 3 is expected to reduce as 12,000 passengers will soon be using Terminal 4 for their domestic flights.
He is grateful that Terminal 4 is gradually returning to normal and he is looking forward to that the virus alert level remained low.
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