INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES
MANILA, Philippines — Over 134,000 air passengers flocked to the country’s main international gateway on March 24 (Palm Sunday) alone, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said on Monday.
According to the MIAA, they have logged some 134,660 travelers at the terminals of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), which is higher than last year’s figure of 116,545.
However, this year’s Palm Sunday foot traffic at Naia is still lower than the pre-pandemic volume of 144,799 in 2019.
READ: Naia gearing up for Holy Week travel rush
Of March 24’s total passenger count at Naia, 69,038 are for domestic flights while 65,622 are for international flights, Miaa data showed.
As per the airport authority ’s recent data, they are expecting some 1 million passengers at Naia during the eight-day period of the Holy Week which starts at Palm Sunday and ends at Easter Sunday on March 31.
This projection, however, is a decrease from the initial estimate by MIAA spokesperson Chris Bendijo, who had anticipated 1.7 to 1.8 million passengers at Naia during Holy Week.
READ: Airports on heightened alert for Holy Week
“We are expecting passenger traffic at the highs of 160k to 180k per day,” the MIAA official previously told INQUIRER.net in a text interview.
In a recent interview over at dzBB, Bendijo said that the MIAA is expecting passengers to surge at the airport on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, airports operated by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines are under heightened alert from March 24 to 31 as part of its preparations for the surge of Holy Week passenger volume.