NAIA international passengers on the rise, airlines add more routes

International passenger traffic at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) rose 2.6% year-on-year to 19.93 million from January 1 to October 22, 2026, despite disruptions to global aviation from the Middle East conflict.

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. Growth continued into October, with traffic rising 2.05% to 1,389,882 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,” NNIC general manager Angelito Alvarez said in a statement.

“Our responsibility is to make sure NAIA can support that demand with better facilities, more reliable operations, and a better experience for passengers,” Alvarez added.

This story was originally published by PortCalls Asia. Read the full story at PortCalls Asia →