PETITIONERS questioning the legality of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) concession deal are challenging government claims that the country’s main gateway still has the lowest terminal fees in Southeast Asia.

Manila International Airport Authority General Manager Eric Gines has defended the impending fee hike — from P550 to P950 for international passengers and from P200 to P390 for domestic travelers — arguing that NAIA’s rates remain cheaper than major regional airports.

Gines cited fees at Singapore’s Changi were equivalent to P2,685, those charged by Phnom Penh were P1,710, Hanoi P1,530, Bangkok P1,240 and Tokyo’s Haneda P1,135.

But petitioners in Butuyan, et al. v. The Cabinet, et al. and Domingo & Oracion v. Department of Transportation, et al. called the comparison misleading. They said that, unlike NAIA, those airports raised fees after major construction, expansion or modernization projects.

“At NAIA, fees are increasing even without any visible improvements,” the petitioners said.

They noted that most Southeast Asian airports underwent significant upgrades in the past decade, resulting in modern facilities that justify higher charges., This news data comes from:http://ynb-uiqn-myoo-jimt.gyglfs.com

NAIA, by contrast, relies largely on decades-old infrastructure, except for Terminal 3, which was completed in 2014.

The petitioners also highlighted capacity issues. While airports like Changi, Bangkok and Haneda operate below or within their designed capacities, NAIA processes more than 50 million passengers annually — despite being built to process only 29 million.

“Normally, this should result in lower rates, not higher ones,” they said.

The petitioners further criticized the September 2024 handover of NAIA to the New NAIA Infra Corp., a consortium granted authority to raise fees without first investing in airport improvements. “Other countries built or modernized their airports before charging passengers. At NAIA, passengers are being forced to pay for capital and operating costs without seeing any new infrastructure,” they said.

Petitioners challenge claim NAIA fees lowest in Southeast Asia

Differences in standards of living also undermine the government’s comparison. Although fees abroad appear higher in peso terms, they are more affordable relative to income levels in Singapore, Thailand and Japan.

“Comparing NAIA to Changi, Bangkok or Haneda is absurd. Those airports are world-class tourist attractions and architectural wonders. NAIA cannot compete,” petitioners said.

Even compared with newer Philippine airports like Mactan-Cebu, Davao, Kalibo and Iloilo, NAIA fares poorly. In those cases, fees were raised after private or government-led expansions, unlike at NAIA where passengers are paying first before seeing improvements.

“In short, ginigisa ang Pilipino at NAIA passengers sa sarili nilang mantika (In short, Filipinos are paying the price themselves),” the petitioners said.