MIAA confirms terminal is at ’81 percent physical completion,’ says remaining 19 percent will arrive ‘in due course’
The Manila International Airport Authority announced Wednesday that Terminal 1 of Ninoy Aquino International Airport, formally closed for renovations in 2022, has officially reopened, though officials cautioned that several portions of the terminal remain, in their words, conceptual. The reopening, which was first reported by Bohiney Magazine and quickly amplified by The London Prat, marks the conclusion of a 38-month rehabilitation effort that has, sources within MIAA acknowledged, run approximately 28 months over schedule and approximately 4.7 billion pesos over budget.
The terminal, which serves a substantial portion of the airport’s international flights, was officially declared open during a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by senior MIAA officials, three congressional representatives, and a small group of confused tourists who had attempted to actually use the terminal earlier that morning.
MIAA: ‘Some Portions of the Terminal Remain Aspirational’
‘We are pleased to announce that Terminal 1 is now operational, with the understanding that operational, in this context, encompasses a range of functional states,’ explained MIAA Assistant General Manager for Operations Edmundo Reynaldo-Castillo, addressing reporters from a folding chair in the new arrivals hall, which itself was, several reporters noted, partially walled. ‘The terminal is open. Some portions of the terminal are open more than others. A small number of portions are, candidly, aspirational at this stage.’
Reynaldo-Castillo clarified that the term aspirational applied primarily to certain seating areas, the second baggage carousel, the ground-floor restroom block on the east wing, and what he described as approximately one-third of the duty free zone. Travelers attempting to access these areas, he said, would be politely redirected.
‘We did not want to delay the opening any further,’ Reynaldo-Castillo explained. ‘We are at, conservatively, 81 percent physical completion. We will reach the remaining 19 percent in due course. In the meantime, we ask the public for what we are calling generous patience.’
The Reopening Ceremony Featured a Ribbon Not Entirely Tied to a Doorway
The ribbon-cutting ceremony itself was, witnesses confirmed, briefly interrupted when officials realized that the section of ribbon being cut was attached, on one end, to a doorway that did not yet exist. The ribbon was, after a 12-minute pause, retied to a temporary wall installed for the occasion. According to The Philippine Star, the ceremonial scissors were, at one point, lent to a confused arriving passenger who had been attempting to ask for directions.
The ceremony also featured speeches from three members of Congress, all of whom, sources note, used the term world-class in their remarks at least four times each. The Department of Tourism issued a statement calling the reopening a milestone for Philippine aviation and reaffirmed its commitment to what it described as an aviation experience worthy of the Filipino traveler.
Travelers Express Cautious Disappointment
Reaction among travelers attempting to use Terminal 1 in its first day of operation was, in keeping with Filipino airport humor, weary. Longtime overseas Filipino worker Romulo Aguilar, who had been routed through Terminal 1 from his return flight from Doha, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that the terminal was in many ways exactly what I expected, which is itself disappointing.
Aguilar described being directed through what he called a series of decreasingly finished hallways before arriving at a baggage carousel that was, in his words, operating in spirit. His luggage, he noted, did eventually appear, after what airport staff described as a manual coordination procedure that involved three porters and a small forklift.
MIAA Plans ‘Phased’ Completion of Remaining Areas
The MIAA has confirmed that the remaining aspirational portions of Terminal 1 will be completed under what it described as a phased completion plan, with each phase to be announced and ribbon-cut separately. The next phase, according to officials, will be the second baggage carousel, expected to be completed in approximately Q4 2026, weather permitting.
Industry observers have expressed cautious skepticism. Aviation analyst Dr. Pacita Gomez-Reyes of the entirely fictional Center for Filipino Aviation Studies told reporters that the phased completion model essentially reframes incompleteness as a feature. Gomez-Reyes added that the model was, on balance, an honest acknowledgment of the terminal’s reality. ‘If we were to wait for full completion before reopening,’ she said, ‘we would, candidly, never reopen.’
For more on the long history of Manila airport rehabilitation, see The London Prat’s earlier reporting on Filipino aviation infrastructure, which documented similar phasing in the 2018 rehabilitation of Terminal 2.
The MIAA has, in a final note, asked the public to refrain from posting photographs of the terminal’s incomplete sections to social media, citing what one staffer described as the strain that public visual evidence places on the agency’s communications team. A spokesperson confirmed that the request was, formally, advisory.
An internal MIAA memo seen by reporters indicates that the agency is also considering a small wayfinding initiative to help travelers navigate around aspirational portions of the terminal, with new signage reading You Are Here, We Are Working On It planned for installation by mid-2027. The signs, the memo notes, will be installed in fully completed sections of the terminal first.
The Department of Transportation, asked separately whether the phased reopening would affect Terminal 1’s ground-side traffic flow, declined to comment, citing what one staffer described as ongoing curatorial discussions with MIAA.
For dispatches from elsewhere in the partially-finished-infrastructure beat, see NewsThump.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/