Ninoy Aquino International Airport

Ninoy Aquino International Airport is the primary international gateway to the Philippines and the busiest airport in the country, serving 57 airlines on 216 routes to 91 nonstop destinations from one of the most spatially constrained major hub sites in Asia. Located 7 km (4.3 mi) south of central Manila in Pasay and Parañaque at just 75 ft (23 m) of elevation, MNL is named for Senator Benigno 'Ninoy' Aquino Jr., who was assassinated on the tarmac upon returning from exile in August 1983 — an event that catalyzed the People Power Revolution and the end of the Marcos regime. MNL serves as the global hub for Philippine Airlines — Asia's first commercial airline, founded in 1941 — and for Cebu Pacific, the country's largest low-cost carrier, alongside a substantial base for AirAsia Philippines and PAL Express. The airport's strategic position links the Philippine diaspora of nearly 12 million overseas Filipino workers to destinations across the Middle East, North America, Japan, Hong Kong, and Europe, with Philippine Airlines operating one of the few trans-Pacific networks out of Southeast Asia (direct service to Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York JFK, Vancouver, Toronto, and Honolulu). The airport handled over 45 million passengers pre-pandemic, with the four terminals (T1 international, T2 PAL domestic and select international, T3 domestic and international, T4 domestic regional) operating as de facto separate airports linked only by a free 24/7 inter-terminal shuttle bus. MNL operates two intersecting runways — the primary 06/24 at 12,261 ft (3,737 m) and the crosswind 13/31 at 7,408 ft (2,258 m) — an intersecting configuration that structurally caps hourly movements at roughly half of what parallel runways at comparable major Asian airports achieve. In 2024 a consortium led by San Miguel Corporation (NNIC) took over a 15-year operating concession with commitments for a major rehabilitation program, and a replacement greenfield airport at Bulacan (New Manila International Airport) is under construction 35 km (22 mi) north of the city, targeting eventual transfer of the bulk of commercial operations.