Philippines

Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) recorded 433,000 passengers from 13-15 Apr, up from the 387,000 recorded in 2024, at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). On 15 Apr, the airport recorded 140,000 travellers, including 71,000 domestic passengers and 68,000 international passengers. MIAA recorded 150,000 passengers on 13 Apr and 142,000 on 14 Apr

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAAP) signed an MoU with the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) to improve Clark International Airport operations. The MoU will focus on the operation and maintenance of Communications, Navigation, and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) infrastructure at the airport

Philippine Airlines’ frequent flyer program, Mabuhay Miles, reached 6.1 million members in 2024, +33% YoY, with 68% new registrations coming from Gen Y and Z. The data shows that young travellers are flying 2X more than average travellers, and contributed 40% of passenger revenue in 2024. PAL’s partner-generated revenue increased by 77% and redemption-related revenues increased by 52% YoY. The program has signed up with merchants such as Grab, to expand its user base

Cebu Pacific recorded 2.2 million passengers in Mar, +18.9% YoY. The airline also recorded +19.2% YoY in seat capacity, as well as an 81.4% seat load factor (SLF), a drop from 81.6% in Mar 2024. Cebu Pacific recorded 1.66 million passengers in Mar, +20.2% YoY. The airline recorded +17.9% YoY in available seats and 84.1% load factor in Mar. For international routes, passenger volume increased by 15.2%, but SLF dropped to 74.3% following a 22.9% expansion in capacity. In Q1 2025, Cebu Pacific recorded 7 million passengers, +26.3% vs 5.5 million recorded in 2024. The average load factor for Q1 2025 recorded 84.9%, and capacity increased by 24.8% to 8.2 million seats. Cebu Pacific operates 99 aircraft and flies to 37 domestic and 26 international destinations

AirAsia MOVE published travel trends for the 2025 Holy Week with peak departure on 16 Apr and peak return on 20 Apr. The report found; 53% are solo travellers, 17% are couples and families, 9% are small groups, and 3% are medium groups Millennials (aged 30-39) account for 35% of travellers, 27% are aged 20-29, 16% are aged 40-49, and 13% are aged 70-79 45% of travellers booked luxury hotels, 43% booked mid-range, and 12% on budget hotels Manila, Cebu, Iloilo, Caticlan, and Tacloban are popular domestic destinations Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, and Bangkok are popular international destinations. Manila ranked second in the international list, indicating more Filipinos are returning to the Philippines for the holiday The most searched destinations are Manila, Caticlan, Cebu, Tacloban, and Hong Kong

Philippine Airlines (PAL) launched its own e-wallet, which allows users to store e-cards, travel credits, vouchers, and e-gifts

Scoot Airlines launched a direct Singapore-Iloilo route from 14 Apr

Terminal 4 of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) will be rebuilt at the former site of the international cargo terminal. The New Naia Infra Corp. (NNIC) plans to handle domestic flights of AirAsia and Cebu Pacific from T4. The NNIC General Manager said they will not proceed with the old NAIA T4 renovation after they found it to be hazardous. NNIC found that the airport situation is similar to Muan Airport, which caused a deadly crash landing in 2024. The construction of T5 will start after the demolition of an abandoned hotel. The construction of T5 will be completed in 2-3 years

Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) Head Executive Assistant expects 550,000 passengers travelling from NAIA until 16 Apr, +10% YoY

The Philippines is keen on leading in the production and usage of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) made from agricultural waste feedstock. The Department of Transportation (DOTr) highlighted its commitment to a sustainable aviation sector during the 2025 SAF Forum on 28. DOTr said it will foster innovation and partnerships to become a leader in SAF production and usage. SAF has the potential to lower emissions by 80% compared to conventional jet fuel. DOTr’s partnership with Boeing is expected to create jobs and a chance to gain knowledge of the industry. Boeing Southeast Asia acknowledged that the Philippines has sufficient agricultural waste feedstock to support its jet fuel needs and achieve the aviation sector’s net-zero goal by 2050. A report by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials and Boeing showed total feedstock available in the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia accounts for 90% of ASEAN’s supply capacity. The Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines targets a 5% SAF blend by 2030. Southeast Asia’s feedstocks can supply 12% of global SAF demand to meet aviation industry’s net-zero goal by 2050

Philippine Airlines Inc. (PAL) reopened its pilot training institution after 4 years. The institute is a strategic partnership between the Airways Aviation Group (AAG) and PAL. It was closed in Jun 2020 due to the pandemic. The institute screens 500 applicants per batch but only selects 25 candidates in pre-pandemic. AAG trained more than 12,000 pilots globally through its academy and will accept 20 cadets who will receive training in Australia between late Jul-Sep

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has placed all 44 airports in the Philippines on heightened alert in anticipation of high passenger traffic during the holy week from 17-20 Apr. Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) and New Naia Infrastructure Corporation (NNIC) placed Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on high alert as they projected a 10%-20% increase in passenger traffic

Philippine Airlines (PAL) is expected to record 17.16-18.72 million passengers in 2025. PAL’s President said the airline is targeting a 10%-20% growth in 2025. In 2024, PAL recorded 15.6 million passengers

The New Naia Infra Corp (NNIC) expects to see 155,000-157,000 passengers travelling through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport daily during the Holy Week. During 2024 Holy Week, the airport recorded 145,000 passengers

AirAsia Philippines CEO is expecting 100,000-150,000 passengers during the Holy Week, exceeding 2023’s passenger volume of 100,000 passengers. He said Caticlan, Tagbilaran City, and Puerto Princesa are seeing high demand during the Holy Week. Tacloban, Iloilo, and Cebu are popular destinations for families to visit. The outbound travel is likely to countries like Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea, and Macau

Philippines Airlines launched a direct flight between Manila-Da Nang, offering 3 flights per week from 1 Jul

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) clarified that there are no travel advisories by the US authorities against Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) or any other airports. DOTr said TSA authorities in Manila have mistakenly included an old travel advisory which was issued in 2018 and lifted in 2019

Air Canada’s direct flight between Vancouver-Manila with 3 flights per week will add 57,216 flight seats in a year, or 4,768 seats per month on average. In 2024, the Philippines welcomed 223,944 Canadians, making it the 6th top source country. In Q1 2025, 77,390 Canadian tourists visited the Philippines, +14.42% YoY

AirAsia Aviation Group identified the Philippines as a key market for its growth strategy in 2025. AirAsia Philippines said they will increase Taipei service to 17 weekly flights from 14 flights starting in Jul

Philippine Airlines is increasing its operations at Mactan-Cebu International Airport hub for the peak travel season by adding more flights and deploying larger aircraft to meet the increase in demand. PAL Express President said the airline will operate 287 weekly round-trip domestic flights between Cebu and 18 destinations in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, a +10% increase in frequency. The airline will increase frequencies to the Cebu to Boracay route (from 14 to 21 weekly flights), Cebu to Siargao (from 18 to 26), Cebu to Puerto Princesa (from 7 to 14), and Cebu to Coron (from 14 to 17). PAL will increase Davao flights to 29 per week and 14 per week to the Cebu-Tacloban route. PAL will launch Cebu-HCMC flights from May

United Airlines plans to add daily flights to Bangkok and HCMC from 26 Oct, connecting from its Los Angeles and San Francisco flights to Hong Kong. It also plans to launch a daily direct San Francisco-Manila flight from 25 Oct

The New NAIA Infrastructure Corp. (NNIC) projected passengers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to reach 53.36 million in 2025. NNIC estimates that NAIA will increase flight traffic to 316,663 in 2025 from 293,488 in 2024. Meanwhile, Air Canada has launched direct flights between Manila and Vancouver from 2 Apr with 3 flights per week. Air India is working with civil aviation authorities to secure flight approvals to the Philippines. NAIA recorded 699,689 metric tons of cargo in 2025 from 616,478 metric tons in 2024

AirAsia Philippines forward booking for Apr-May reaches more than 500,000. The airlines recorded a significant increase in demand for Cebu, Iloilo, Palawan, and Tagbilaran. For international routes, the most popular bookings were for Taiwan and Japan. AirAsia Philippines announced a seat sale from 31 Mar-6 Apr for the upcoming Holy Week and summer holidays

Philippine Holdings Inc, parent company of Philippine Airlines (PAL), recorded 8.11 billion PHP in net income in 2024, -62% YoY. - The company recorded 178.01 billion PHP in revenue in 2024 vs 179.12 billion PHP in 2023 - Passenger revenues dropped to 154.95 billion PHP in 2024 from 159.58 billion in 2023 - Cargo, ancillary, and other revenues recorded increases to 9.16 billion PHP, 13.82 billion PHP, and 81 million PHP - The expenses recorded 160.04 billion PHP in expenses, +6% YoY vs 151.04 billion PHP in 2023 - Financing charges and other charges reached 7.02 billion PHP - PAL operated 110,867 flights, +5% YoY and carried 15.6 million passengers, +6% YoY

Philippine Airlines reported its FY 2024, with net income of 10.22 billion PHP, but its income dropped 51% YoY from 2023’s 21 billion PHP. The airline attributed its profits due to passenger demand, strategic network expansion and cost management. It noted that a moderation of growth rates, inflation and increased competition put a strain on yield. Its revenue dropped 4% YoY to 179.67 billion PHP, and passenger revenue dropped 6% YoY. It carried 15.6 million pax, +6% YoY, and operated 110,867 flights, +5% YoY

Cebu Pacific releases its financial status for 2024. Its net income dropped to 2.64 billion PHP in 2024 from 8.34 billion in 2023 The revenue increased to 98.19 billion in 2024 from 85.09 billion in 2023. The 15.3% growth was driven by the air transportation services sales, including passenger and ancillary revenues The passenger revenues reached 64.14 billion, an increase from 57.4 billion PHP Ancillary services increased to 27.51 billion PHP from 23.7 billion PHP Cargo revenues reached 5.54 billion PHP Expenses reached 89.84 billion PHP in 2024 from 77.72 billion PHP in 2023 Cebu Pacific carried 24.5 million passengers in 2024, +18% YoY, capturing 54.1% of the domestic market and 20.6% of the international market

Cebu Pacific received its first new aircraft of 2025, an A330neo. It expects to receive 3 more A330s this year

Transportation Secretary said he is pushing to expand Siargao Airport’s seating capacity from 200 to 700 seats within 4-6 months

Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) signed a lease-to-own deal to allow MIAA a 3-year option to decide whether to purchase the 61-hectare NAIA Terminal 3 property for 48.89 billion PHP or continue to lease it from BCDA

Jetstar is planning to launch a Brisbane-Cebu flight and Perth-Manila flight in Nov 2025, with flights three times per week. It last flew to the Philippines in 2010

Qantas will launch direct flights from Perth-Manila and Brisbane-Cebu from 27 Nov with 3 flights per week, subject to approval from the International Air Services Commission of Australia

The Manila International Airport Authority said passenger volume at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport is expected to increase by 20%-30% as more foreign airlines have expressed their interest in operating at the airport. The MIAA General Manager said NAIA recorded 4 million passengers in Jan and Feb 2025. The officials are expecting 2025’s passenger volume to exceed 2024’s passenger volume of 50.1 million passengers. MIAA and New NAIA Infrastructure Corp. (NNIC) projects more travelers during the Holy Week holiday from 17-20 Apr. The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said 30 immigration officers will be deployed at the NAIA and other airports after completing their training