50K daily departures, arrivals monitored at NAIA amid holiday exodus - BI

At least 50,000 daily passenger arrivals and departures respectively were monitored at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) amid the expected exodus of travelers for the holiday season, according to the Bureau of Immigration (BI).

''Nakita natin almost everyday, umaabot  ng around 50,000 ang arrival at 50,000 din ang departures," BI Deputy Spokesperson Melvin Mabulac told PTV's Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon on Tuesday.

(We are seeing an average daily arrivals and departures of 50,000.)

'"Nakita natin yung bugso ay sa NAIA, more dito sa NAIA Terminal 1 at Terminal 3 as well. Doon natin nakita na mas mataas siya compared last year but inaasahan natin ito considering na peak season pag December," Mabulac said.

(Most of the passengers were using NAIA Terminals 1 and 3. The number of travelers were higher this year but we were expecting this considering December is a peak season.)

Domestic and international travelers started to troop at the country's central airport amid the Christmas season. According to the New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC), passenger traffic at the NAIA is expected to increase by 5 percent to around 2.55 million from December 20, 2025 to January 5, 2026.

Mabulac said the bureau deployed a total of 957 immigration personnel  to ensure smooth and efficient operations in all airports nationwide. At least 24 biometric immigration e-gates have been activated at NAIA Terminals 1 and 3 to avoid long queues ahead of the Christmas rush.

"Considering the usual international standard, umaabot ng 45 seconds, dito kung ikaw ay pipila nandun around 20 seconds," he said.

(The usual international standard is around 45 seconds, here passengers only have to process their records in the e-gates at around 20 seconds.)

"24/7 may mga personnel na in charge sa e-gates..Agad-agad kapag may problema nare-resolve agad. May mga dine-deploy po na tao. Strictly monitored po ito at may maintenance," Mabulac added.

(There are personnel in charge of the e-gates and they were deployed 24/7 so if there were problems, it would be resolved immediately. We are deploying them and strictly monitoring their operations and maintenance.)

In November, the NNIC said it will start activating new biometric immigration e-gates in phases at the NAIA starting December. This is part of their bid to improve passenger processing in the country's main gateway. — RF, GMA Integrated News