MANILA, Philippines — The Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) reached a record-breaking 4.96 million passengers in January 2026, surpassing the previous record of 4.86 million in December 2026.
New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC) reported that NAIA served nearly 2.6 million passengers between December 20 and January 4, capping a strong holiday season.
Travel peaked on January 4, with 180,089 passengers passing through the airport, the highest single-day passenger volume recorded to date.
International travel continued to drive growth, with NAIA handling 2.42 million international passengers in January - an 8.16 percent increase from the previous year and the highest monthly volume in the airport's history. Domestic passenger traffic reached 2.54 million, up 3.16 percent year-on-year.
NNIC said that despite the higher passenger volumes during the holiday peak and the remainder of the month, airport operations remained stable, supported by operational improvements introduced in the past year.
These included terminal upgrades, the rollout of biometric immigration e-gates and biometric passenger processing systems, and closer coordination among airlines, government agencies, and airport service providers to manage queues, flights, and passenger flow.
NAIA serves as the country's primary aviation hub, handling domestic and international operations. Under the public-private partnership, NNIC is responsible for the airport's operations, maintenance, and modernization.
As of January 2026, NNIC has remitted P62.7 billion to the government since taking over NAIA operations in September 2024.
