Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Terminal 3

There used to be 2 terminals in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Now there are four terminals. PAL is in Terminal 2 while Cebu Pacific, PAL Express and Air Philippines use Terminal 3. The other two terminals include the one serving non-PAL and Cebu Pacific international flights and the old domestic airport serving other domestic airlines namely Zest Air and Sea Air. Until now, I don't know how they determined the numeric order of these terminals.

I know a lot of passengers who end up in the wrong terminal. I myself is one of them. With my PAL-issued ticket, I proceeded to the PAL Centennial Terminal. Only to find out when I got there that I should be in the new terminal since my flight will be operated by PAL’s sister company, Air Philippines. Probably one of the reasons that they require you to be in the airport several hours before your flight is to preclude missing your flight when you end up in the wrong terminal. You should have ample time to switch terminals should the need arise, or better yet make sure what your terminal is beforehand. Good thing, I was early at that time so I had enough time to go the correct terminal.

Amongst the four terminals, Terminal 3 is the newest. As a friend said, "Dama ang pag-unlad!" I like the fact that it's the only terminal that allows passengers inside. However, the birth pains during its start-up were something else. But that's a different story. Now the newest terminal just turned one!

And to pay homage to Terminal 3 which reminds me of BKK's Suvarnabhumi Airport. Here are pictures of its interior. (This is what happens when you arrive in the airport 30 minutes before your friends do, you have a lot of time to enjoy the surroundings.)

check-in counters that are not yet utilized

escalator to the departure area

I love the terminal's shiny floor and the "striped" ceilings!

the persons responsible for the squeaky clean floors

the terminal boasts of a lot of empty spaces

lines....lines...lines.....

2 comments:

dreamwalker said...

Haven't been there since March...September naman?

giting said...

Yes, September. :-)