Review: Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3

After much excitement over the NAIA Terminal 3 opening, I was finally able to experience the terminal personally last weekend and yesterday night. Together with Eric and Melo, I flew out of Manila and into Cebu to watch (and shoot!) the Pasigarbo sa Sugbu, a festival of all Cebu festivals (which is different from Sinulog).

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Plenty of open check-in counters

 
Now, I heard of horror stories about the terminal: flights getting delayed because they can’t assign a gate to use because most of it are broken, facilities not working properly, etc. Fortunately, none of these things happened to us. I guess the two weeks that the terminal has been in operation have helped them find solutions on making the most out of the huge airport.

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The empty immigration booths

 
The first thing that would greet you when you enter the airport premises are the seperate lanes for private and public transport. Then, as you enter the cavernous terminal, you’re met with a blast of cold air. It’s too cold inside! Unlike the other airports, well wishers can accompany the passenger inside the terminal. There are food kioks in the outer area (Kopi Roti, Jollibee), so families and friends can spend some more time together before parting. Starting at the check-in counters, passengers are on their own. Well wishers, however, can go up the viewing deck and have a bird’s eye view of the area after the Immigration booths.

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Plenty of wide open spaces

 
The airport was huge. Because not all flights have been moved to the terminal, the only crowded places are the waiting areas near the boarding gates. Beyond the Immigration, there’s a Delifrance, Go Nuts Donuts, and a convenience store, ensuring that you don’t go hungry while you wait for your plane. Smokers can likewise enjoy a stick or two inside the smoking area (which is basically an empty room with a window open and a view of the Makati and Taguig skyline).

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Walkalators!

 
Lavatories are clean and have plenty of stalls. I saw some water fountain in some places, but wasn’t able to check whether they’re already functional. There are also power points around the waiting area, so you can charge your cellphone and camera batteries or plug in your laptop while you catch up on work (not sure if there’s Wi-Fi inside the airport though). And to further empahsize the size of the airport, there’s a walkalator, a standard feature in some of the world’s biggest and busiest airports.

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Aquarium?

 
Each gate has facilities for front and middle loading. Unfortunately, these aren’t being utilized. We had to walk down a flight of stairs and into the tarmac to board the planes. It’s the same for arrivals. Depending on where your plane parked, there’s a pretty long walk from the plane to the terminal entrance. It’s fairly easy to find your way to the exit, as there are signs along the way. On the way out, we passed through the un-manned immigration booths and Customs inspection tables. Beyond that, are the doors that takes you out into Manila. If your final destination is not Manila you can get a cab or a bus directly from the airport to the city of your choice such as Batangas or Quezon.

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No lines at the loos

 
Similar to the old international terminal, passengers are advised to exit on the doors specified for the first letter of their surnames. This is to make it easy for friends and family coming to pick up their loved ones. If you’re taking a cab home, you have three options: take the expensive Airport Taxi, which has a fixed price (super expensive), a “metered” yellow taxi (I hear from Melo that they were charging a flat rate of Php 400. What the heck, right?), or the regular (and true) metered taxi. The first thing you’d see when you step out of the terminal are the airport taxis. Keep walking to the right and you’d see the line of Yellow taxis. I had a bad feeling about these yellow taxis, as I saw a huge concentration of their ilk in the airport parking lot, so I kept on walking, knowing that there should be a line for regular taxis, since I saw an MGE taxi pass by as I stepped out of the airport doors. True enough, there was a line of MGE and EMP taxis at the very end of the terminal, with nobody else lined up, since everybody’s already queued up for the airport or the Yellow taxi. Not only did I have to line up for a cab, the driver didn’t even give me a spiel about adding Php50 to the meter or trying to bargain a price for the ride to Quezon City.

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Conveyor belts

 
All in all, I’m quite happy with my NAIA T3 experience. I can’t comment on the effectivity of the conveyor belts though, since I didn’t check in my bags (which was a boon, because I was able to get out of the airport before the hoard went out and a long queue formed at the taxi stands). I just hope my experience the next time I use the airport would be just as good.


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70 responses to “Review: Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3”

  1. anne Avatar
    anne

    terminal 3 just arrived in macau from manila terminal 3..naiwan ko mini bag sa loob mismo ng xray conveyor..after 5 to 7 mints binalikan ko..wala daw dun wallet ko na may laman na pera…imposibling kunin..ng ibang pasahero tulad ng sinasabi nyo sakin…ano yun..magic…pare pareho ..dnyo ikakayaman yung pera na makukuha nyo..nakakahiya kayo yung mga ksama ko turista ang sabi same lang daw ng gobyerno ng pilipinas..simula sa mataas pababa…pati yung turista na ksma namin…pinabalik pa pra kunin yung mug na souvenir from puerto galera…mindoro…ayus mg partime job nyo…

  2. Mike Gonzalvez Avatar
    Mike Gonzalvez

    Terminal 3: I recently witnessed the abuse of a lady passenger by an immigration person. What’s going on in the Philippines?

  3. Jawie Avatar
    Jawie

    Is thre any terminal besides terminal 3?, excluding Pal terminal

    1. Nina Avatar

      Terminal 1 (International), Terminal 2 (Centennial/PAL only), Terminal 3 (Domestic and International), and Terminal 4 (old Domestic airport)

  4. Rhiza lim Avatar
    Rhiza lim

    Good evening, ask ko lang po kung pwde po ba ang jeepney sa loob ng naia terminal 3?? Kc may susunduin po kmi sa feb. Salamat po sa response.. God bless everyone.

    1. Nina Avatar

      Yup, puede naman.

  5. 1437bev Avatar

    Where are the yellow taxis? Taxi FIXER are zooming on the wary , exsusted travellers waiting for not seem to be coming taxis. taxi FIXER are charging quadrople. I’ll doing lots of posting about this experience that just like 10years ago. FILIPINO don’t lost this opportunity to be consistent ,my experience 3 yrs ago was awesome that’s why u come back. But now am thinking of other distanation.

  6. lilia malenab Avatar
    lilia malenab

    meron bang lbc sa loob ng naia 3

  7. DIONNE MENDIOLA Avatar
    DIONNE MENDIOLA

    BEWARE: Last saturday morning February 3, 2017, I lost my Go Pro hero 5 at this terminal 3 someone took it from my bag its like 5 mnts since i pass tru the xray machine. I don’t know if thats the modus/snatcher inside the terminal. We need more action and police visibility (ASAP) since lots of tourist departing and arriving at this terminal. I just giving you guys a Warning thats terrible!!!!!!

  8. Melanie Desamero Avatar
    Melanie Desamero

    Is there any place at the airport i can unlock my phone and buy a dual sim.card?

    1. Nina Fuentes Avatar

      Hi Melanie, at the arrivals hall, I know there are kiosks that sell local sim cards. I don’t think there are shops at the airport where you can have your phone unlocked, though there are plenty of places in the malls around Metro Manila.

      1. Melanie Desamero Avatar
        Melanie Desamero

        Thank you Nina! That helps alot.?

  9. john Avatar

    its a bit chaotic knowing that there is no specific gates in which passenger can go in and out.

  10. ER Avatar
    ER

    May waiting area po ba sa loob ng NAIA Terminal 3? Nagpapasok po ba nung 18 and below if meron po sa loob?

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