NNIC to redesign NAIA drop-off areas after deadly crash

The New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC), the operator of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), on Tuesday said it is conducting an audit of all security bollards and redesigning departure passenger drop-off areas across the country’s main gateway, following the recent crash that claimed two lives last Sunday.

According to NNIC, the audit will cover all security bollards across NAIA, while the redesign will include the departure passenger drop-off areas at Terminals 1 and 2, as part of its immediate efforts to improve curbside safety.

“This will determine where reinforcements — such as deeper foundations or structured upgrades — are needed for existing bollards that were installed in 2019, along with similar protective barriers, particularly in high foot-traffic areas,” it said.

The NNIC said it is also modifying the current diagonal passenger drop-off layout at the departure areas of Terminals 1 and 2 into a safer parallel unloading configuration.

“Together with the planned bollard reinforcements, this adjustment will provide an added layer of protection for passengers, well-wishers, airport staff, and others who regularly access the terminal curbside,” it said.

The statement comes after a sports utility vehicle (SUV) rammed through a security bollard and sped  into the departure area of NAIA Terminal 1 on Sunday morning, killing a four-year-old daughter of an overseas Filipino worker (OFW), and a 29-year-old man who was supposed to fly abroad on a business trip, and injuring several others.

A report from the Land Transportation Office (LTO) found that the driver claimed he panicked when he said a sedan passed in front of him as he was about to leave the departure area. CCTV footage of the area, however, showed that there was no such vehicle in front of him. He has since been brought into police custody, with his driver’s license suspended.

“This was a serious incident, and we are treating it with the urgency it deserves. While safeguards were already in place, we recognize that there is always room to improve. We are taking concrete steps to help ensure incidents like this do not happen again,” NNIC said Tuesday.

NNIC president Ramon Ang over the weekend also committed to personally shoulder the medical expenses of those injured in the vehicular crash, and to provide financial assistance to the families of the casualties.

The NNIC, made up of San Miguel Holdings Corp., RMM Asian Logistics Inc., RLW Aviation Development Inc., and Incheon International Airport Corp., took over NAIA on September 14, 2024.

It inked a P170.6-billion concession agreement with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to take over NAIA in March 2024, after it offered the highest share of its future revenues from operating the gateway to the government.

Prior to officially taking over the NAIA, the NNIC earlier floated the idea of imposing fees on drivers who take more than 10 minutes to drop off passengers on the curbside of the airport, as is being done in other airports overseas to decongest the area.—RF, GMA Integrated News