Philippine Airports List: NAIA Terminals 1, 2 and 3, Airport Lounges and Free Wi-Fi Explained

How Many International Airports Does the Philippines Have? Start With the Four Main Gateways

For most travellers, the Philippines has four international gateways that matter: NAIA in Manila, Mactan-Cebu, Clark and Davao. Everything else is a regional airport whose international routes come and go with the season.

People often search for a single number, but there is no stable one to give. The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) oversees a large network of airports, and which of them carry scheduled international flights changes as airlines add and drop routes. Any fixed count goes stale quickly, so treat the current announcements from CAAP and the individual airports as the reference point.

• NAIA, Manila (MNL): the country's largest international gateway, sitting between Pasay and Parañaque in Metro Manila. It is the closest airport to Makati and BGC and has the widest choice of international routes.
• Mactan-Cebu (CEB): on Mactan Island in Lapu-Lapu City, just off Cebu. It is the hub for the Visayas and the usual entry point for Cebu and Bohol trips; see how to get to Cebu and Bohol.
• Clark (CRK): inside the Clark Freeport in Pampanga, north of Manila. It suits travellers heading to northern Luzon, Clark or Subic; see the Subic and Clark guide.
• Davao (DVO): the main gateway for Mindanao.

Beyond these four, regional airports such as Kalibo (for Boracay), Panglao on Bohol and Puerto Princesa on Palawan have handled international flights, but whether a direct service exists in any given season varies far more than it does at the main gateways.

A practical way to plan: first work out which airport is closest to where you are actually going, then check whether that airport has a direct flight from your departure city this season. If it does not, the default pattern is an international flight into Manila or Cebu followed by a domestic connection. Be careful with that connection. The international and domestic legs may use different terminals, and you may have to clear immigration, collect your bags and check in again. Manila is the most complicated case, which is why the next two sections deal with it in detail before we move on to the other airports, lounges and Wi-Fi.

What Is Manila Airport Called? NAIA's Full Name, Its Operator, and the Terminal Numbers

Manila's airport is officially Ninoy Aquino International Airport, known as NAIA, with the airport code MNL. When travellers talk about Terminal 1 or Terminal 3 in Manila, they mean NAIA's terminals.

A few points confuse first-time visitors, so it is worth settling them before you book:

• Manila airport normally means NAIA. Some people treat Clark as Manila's second airport, but Clark is in Pampanga province and the drive into Metro Manila is long and traffic-dependent. A ticket to Clark does not land you in the city.
• The operator changed. Since 2024 NAIA has been run by a private operator, New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC). Terminal assignments, the airline list, Wi-Fi and shop information are published on the NNIC website, newnaia.com.ph. Many older blog posts describe arrangements from before the handover.
• The terminals are not connected. Terminals 1, 2 and 3 are separate buildings. You cannot walk between them inside the airport; you need the landside shuttle or a car. For how to change terminals on a connection and how much time to allow, see planning a Manila layover.
• Terminal 4 is no longer in use. The old Terminal 4, which used to handle some domestic flights, has been closed and demolished. Press reports in August 2026 said the operator had dropped plans to rebuild a passenger terminal on that site and was prioritising a new Terminal 5 instead; NNIC's own announcements are the final word. If you read that NAIA has four terminals, the information is out of date.

This article does not repeat the arrival process. For eTravel, the immigration counter, baggage claim and meeting your driver, see the Manila airport arrival guide. For how early to arrive and when check-in closes on the way out, see how early to get to NAIA. The rest of this article answers one question first: which building is your flight actually using?

NAIA Terminal 1, 2 and 3: Assigned by Airline, Not Simply by International or Domestic

NAIA assigns terminals by airline first and by international or domestic second, so one carrier's international and domestic flights can leave from different buildings. The lists below follow the Airlines by Terminal page on the NNIC website as it stood when this article was written in September 2026. Always confirm against your booking and NNIC's current notices.

• Terminal 1: Philippine Airlines international flights, plus foreign carriers including China Airlines, EVA Air, Xiamen Air, Korean Air, Asiana, Malaysia Airlines, VietJet and AirAsia's international services.
• Terminal 2: Philippine Airlines and PAL Express domestic flights, and AirAsia Philippines domestic flights.
• Terminal 3: Cebu Pacific, plus a long list of foreign carriers including Air China, China Eastern, China Southern, Shenzhen Airlines, Cathay Pacific, HK Express, Greater Bay Airlines, Air Macau, Starlux, Japan Airlines, ANA, Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Qatar Airways.

If you are flying in from Greater China, a simple way to remember it (still subject to change): Air China, China Eastern, China Southern and Shenzhen Airlines use Terminal 3, while Xiamen Air uses Terminal 1. From Taiwan, China Airlines and EVA Air use Terminal 1 and Starlux uses Terminal 3. Cathay Pacific, HK Express, Greater Bay Airlines and Air Macau all use Terminal 3. On local carriers, Philippine Airlines flies international from Terminal 1 and domestic from Terminal 2, and Cebu Pacific is in Terminal 3.

Why keep repeating the caveat? At the end of March 2026 NNIC carried out a reshuffle: Air China, China Eastern, Shenzhen Airlines, Vietnam Airlines and Royal Brunei moved from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3, Japan Airlines followed shortly after, and AirAsia's international flights moved the other way, from Terminal 3 to Terminal 1. Changes like this happen every so often, which means old guides, old screenshots and even a friend's experience from a few months ago can be wrong.

Three habits prevent most mistakes. Look for the word Terminal on your itinerary as soon as you book. Check again on the airline app or the NNIC site 24 hours before departure. And when you give directions, say NAIA Terminal 3 rather than just the airport. For how much road time to allow at peak hours, see when Manila traffic is worst.

Cebu, Clark and Davao Airports: Simpler Than NAIA, With Two Traps

The other main gateways are much simpler than Manila; in most cases you only need to tell international from domestic. The real traps are international-to-domestic connections and underestimating how far the airport is from where you are staying.

• Mactan-Cebu (CEB): domestic flights use Terminal 1 and international flights use Terminal 2, which opened in 2018. The two buildings sit next to each other, but they run separate check-in and security processes. On an international-to-domestic connection you normally clear immigration and customs at your first point of entry; whether your bags are checked through depends on the airline, and if the two flights are on separate tickets you should expect to collect your luggage and check in again at the domestic building. The airport is on Mactan Island, so reaching Cebu City means crossing a bridge, and peak-hour journeys take longer than the map suggests.
• Clark (CRK): smaller than NAIA with shorter walking distances, which is why many people use it to avoid Manila congestion. The trade-off is distance: getting into Metro Manila means an expressway drive that depends heavily on traffic. For airport buses, P2P coaches and private cars, see the Manila P2P and airport bus guide. Check the airport and your airline for which terminal area your flight uses.
• Davao (DVO): Mindanao's main airport, with noticeably fewer international routes than Manila or Cebu. Many trips route through Manila or Cebu and continue on a domestic flight.

Regional airports such as Kalibo, Panglao and Puerto Princesa change fastest, both in whether they have international flights and in how those flights are handled, so rely on your airline's itinerary. Boracay travellers should decide early between Kalibo and Caticlan, because the transfer to the jetty is very different; see how to get to Boracay.

One rule applies at every airport: if the international and domestic legs are not on the same ticket, plan as if you will have to re-check your bags, and leave a margin rather than squeezing the connection to save an hour. For when the Philippine travel tax and terminal fee apply and where to pay them, see travel tax and terminal fees. Duty-free shopping also differs a lot from airport to airport; see the Philippine airport duty-free guide.

Philippine Airport Lounges: What Each NAIA Terminal Has, How to Get In, and Who Cannot

All three NAIA terminals have lounges, and almost all of them are in the departure area after immigration and security. That means they serve departing and transit passengers only; people meeting arrivals and passengers who have just landed cannot use them. The list below comes from the NNIC website, last updated on 25 August 2026, and names or locations may change.

• Terminal 1: the PAL Lounge (level 4, pre-departure area), A Lounge and PAGSS Lounge (east concourse), Marhaba Lounge (west concourse) and the OFW Lounge (level 3, departure area).
• Terminal 2: two PAL lounges, in the south-west and north-west pre-departure areas, for Philippine Airlines domestic passengers.
• Terminal 3: First Meridian business class lounge (level 4, pre-departure area), The Wings Transit Hotel & Spa (level 4 concession area, combining a transit hotel and lounge) and the OFW Lounge (level 3, departure area).

All of these are listed as open 24 hours. There are broadly three ways in, and each lounge sets its own rules:

1. Cabin class and airline status. Airline-operated lounges are generally for business and first class passengers and for elite frequent flyers. Whether an economy passenger can pay to enter depends on the airline.
2. Paying at the door. Independently run lounges usually sell single visits; the charge and the time you can stay are posted on site.
3. Credit cards and lounge membership programmes. Whether a particular card or programme is accepted at a particular lounge changes as partnerships change. Confirm with both the card issuer and the lounge before you travel instead of relying on an old list online.

The OFW Lounge deserves a separate note. As its name makes clear, it is intended for Overseas Filipino Workers, so ordinary foreign travellers should not treat it as a general lounge; entry conditions are set on site. If you face a long connection and want a shower or some sleep, the transit hotel facilities in Terminal 3 are the better fit; see how to spend a 6, 12 or 24-hour Manila layover. Cebu, Clark and other airports also have lounges, and their current lists and access rules are published by each airport.

One airport, several names: NAIA, MNL and who actually runs what

The main article above already gives the airport’s full name and its operator. This section adds a more practical layer: matching the different names you see online to the same airport, and knowing which desk to go to when something goes wrong. Most “nobody at the airport helped me” stories are really “I went to the wrong desk” stories.

Names that point to the same airport

Who is responsible for what

NAIA is not run by a single body. At least four kinds of players each own a piece:

• The airport authority, MIAA (Manila International Airport Authority). Its website, miaa.gov.ph, hosts the FAQ page, the operational statistics and the feedback channel.
• The operator, NNIC. As covered above, day-to-day operation now sits with a private operator. Terminal assignments, airline lists, the inter-terminal shuttle and baggage storage are published on its own website, which is the place to check.
• Your airline. It owns flights, check-in, baggage allowance and excess-baggage rules. MIAA’s FAQ page tells passengers to confirm their booking, flight status and travel guidelines on the airline’s website or app, and states that each airline’s contract of carriage differs.
• Government agencies stationed at the airport. MIAA’s FAQ page lists a number of them, including the Bureau of Customs, the Bureau of Immigration, the Bureau of Quarantine under the Department of Health, the Bureau of Animal Industry and Bureau of Plant Industry, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Office for Transportation Security, the PNP Aviation Security Group, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, the Department of Migrant Workers and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. The two you will actually deal with are Immigration and Customs.

Mapped onto real problems, it looks like this:

If you are unsure, remember one line: flights go to the airline, buildings and facilities go to NNIC, entry, exit and declarations go to Immigration and Customs, and general feedback goes to MIAA.

Which path are you on? A routing guide for eleven kinds of NAIA visitor

“Going to Manila airport” means very different things for someone arriving, someone connecting, someone picking up and someone seeing a friend off. Find your row first, then read on.

• If you are a first-time visitor arriving in Manila → take the arrival route. Find the terminal number on your itinerary, complete eTravel before you fly and keep a screenshot of the QR code, then follow the order of immigration counter, baggage claim, customs, arrival hall. The full walk-through is in the Manila arrival guide.
• If you are connecting international to international on one ticket → ask whether your airline has arranged an airside transfer. If so, you do not go through immigration; you stay in the secure area and follow the airline’s ground staff. If not, plan for a landside transfer. The three cases are laid out in the Manila connection guide.
• If you are connecting from an international flight to a domestic one → domestic flights have no immigration check, so you must clear entry in Manila; that makes it a landside transfer. Whether your checked bag must be collected, cleared through customs and handed in again depends on the airline and Customs’ current rules. If in doubt, plan for “collect it yourself, check it in again”.
• If you are connecting from a domestic flight to an international one → you are already inside the Philippines, so there is no new entry, but you must check in again at the terminal handling the international flight and pass exit immigration. The domestic and international legs may be in different buildings, so find both terminals on your itinerary.
• If your two flights are on separate tickets → the two airlines have no obligation to connect you. In almost every case you collect your bag, go to the next leg’s terminal, check in and drop it again, and meet that leg’s baggage allowance afresh. Leave far more time than for a through ticket.
• If you are picking someone up → agree on a terminal number with the traveller, not just “Manila airport”. Touts approach people in the arrival hall, so use a pre-booked pickup or the official ride-hailing waiting area. For how safety differs by area, see how safe the Philippines really is, area by area.
• If you are seeing someone off → there is a security check at the terminal entrance, and people without an itinerary for that day cannot get in, so you usually say goodbye at the door. Agree the place and time before leaving home.
• If you are heading to Cebu, Bohol or Boracay → your international leg may land in Manila and connect to a domestic flight, or fly direct to the local airport. Start with the destination guides: Mactan-Cebu airport, Bohol-Panglao airport and Boracay’s Caticlan and Kalibo airports.
• If you are heading to Clark, Subic or northern Luzon → check for a direct flight to Clark first. Clark avoids Manila’s congestion and a direct flight is often less hassle than going through NAIA; the trade-off is that getting into Metro Manila means the expressway, and there is currently no rail link from the airport. See the Subic and Clark guide and Clark airport to Manila.
• If you live in the Philippines and are just flying out of NAIA → besides the ticket and terminal, check whether you fall into a group that needs an Emigration Clearance Certificate (ECC); see below. If your visa situation is complicated or you have stayed a long time, our visa and HR service can help sort out documents before you go. Approval rests with Immigration; we help with document compliance and follow-up.
• If your flight is cancelled by a typhoon and your visa is about to expire → do not rush to rebook. Read what happens when a cancelled flight meets a visa expiry, then follow the airline’s and Immigration’s current notices.

Most trouble comes from two assumptions: “it is all Manila airport, so any terminal will do”, and “a connection is just a different gate”. The tables and timeline below are built around those two mistakes.

Scenario matrix: entry, baggage and terminal changes side by side

Connections and arrivals get confused over three questions: does this leg require entry, do I collect my own bag, and do I change terminals? The table below puts the common NAIA cases together so you can match your own ticket. It draws on Immigration Memorandum No. 2022-001, the consolidated transit passenger guidelines issued on 2 December 2022, and the connection shuttle information published by the NAIA operator. Your airline’s own arrangements for your ticket come first.

A landside transfer also has document requirements. Under the same guidelines, it applies to passengers transiting the Philippines for no more than 72 hours. Those who enter first and then take the next flight need a 9(b) transit visa or must qualify for visa-free entry under Executive Order No. 408 and similar rules, and must fully meet entry requirements. The guidelines also require a confirmed onward ticket departing within 72 hours of arrival, and a visa or entry permit for the destination country. For details and baggage handling see the Manila connection guide; here we only show how to use the table.

The method is simple: find your row, read the last column, and finish that check before you book a shuttle, a hotel or a pickup. When unsure, plan around the most demanding row: collect your own bag, change terminals yourself and check in again.

Departure-day timeline: where you should be at each point

The main article covers how terminals are split, and a dedicated article covers the exit process. This section does one thing: it strings the departure-day time points into a single line so you can work backwards to a leaving time. The times below are typical airline practice; your ticket’s own notes and the day’s announcements come first.

1. Before leaving home. Confirm the terminal number, and save your boarding pass, eTravel QR code and itinerary as local screenshots. Signal and network are patchy in parts of NAIA, so do not rely on loading them on the spot. Foreign nationals who need an ECC must apply at least 72 hours before departure; see below.
2. On the road. Manila traffic can turn twenty kilometres into two hours, especially in the evening peak, so work your leaving time backwards from the traffic. See when Manila traffic is at its worst.
3. At the terminal entrance. There is a first security check at the door: all bags, including checked luggage, go through the X-ray, and your itinerary and passport are checked. People without an itinerary for that day cannot enter.
4. Check-in and bag drop. International check-in counters generally open 3 to 4 hours before departure. Most airlines close international check-in 60 minutes before departure and domestic check-in 45 minutes before. Once the counter closes, you cannot check a bag even if the plane is still there and you are inside the terminal.
5. Fees, where they apply. The airport charge on international departures is now mostly included in the ticket. Whether travel tax is due, and on what exemptions, depends on your status; the current rules are whatever the competent authority announces.
6. Immigration exit check. Foreign nationals may be asked about the purpose and length of their stay and whether they hold an ECC.
7. Second security check. The formal screening before the boarding area. Off-peak, both checks together usually take 20 to 30 minutes; at peak times the door check alone can take more than 20 minutes. This is an estimate, not a promise.
8. Waiting area. Lounges, duty-free and food are all at this stage. Lounges are mostly airside, so you can only use them after security.
9. The gate. Boarding usually starts 30 to 45 minutes before departure and the gate usually closes 15 to 20 minutes before; some gates run a further spot check before boarding.

The two hardest times in this line are the check-in counter closing and the gate closing; once the first passes, being inside the building will not get you on the plane. “Arrive three hours early” is not a habit, it is what you get by adding up counter opening times, the queue at the door, two security checks and the walk to the gate.

Also allow for the peaks. NAIA’s international departures cluster in the early morning (Northeast Asia, the Middle East) and from evening into the small hours (Europe, North America, Southeast Asia); if your flight sits in a peak, every step slows down at once. The full exit process and queue reality are in how early to arrive at Manila airport.

Why people get stuck at NAIA, and what is behind it

Everyone can list “things to watch out for”. What helps is knowing why each one bites, so you can reason about the next one yourself. These ten blockers repeat across the arrival, departure and connection routes.

1. Wrong terminal. Why: NAIA splits terminals by airline, not by international or domestic, and the split gets adjusted; T1, T2 and T3 are three separate buildings you cannot walk between inside. The fix: the operator NNIC’s inter-terminal shuttle serves only passengers with connecting flights, is free on presentation of your ticket, runs 24 hours and leaves each terminal once an hour. The boarding points are the arrival curbside at T1, arrival curbside Bay 19 at T2, and the connecting-shuttle point on the arrival level at T3. “Once an hour” means missing one costs you nearly 60 extra minutes, so budget more than an hour for the change.
2. Assuming online check-in lets you arrive late. Why: if you have a bag to check, you still go to the counter or bag-drop desk, and the bag cut-off is usually the same as the check-in cut-off. Online check-in helps with seats and shorter counter time; it is not permission to be late.
3. Documents that do not match at check-in. Why: on international flights the airline checks passport validity, destination visa or visa-free eligibility, and sometimes a return or onward ticket. The airline is carrying the risk of transporting you; this is not the airport being difficult, and incomplete papers stop you on the spot.
4. Longer questioning at immigration, or secondary inspection. Why: foreign visitors are often asked why they are coming, for how long, where they will stay and when they leave, and answers that do not match the paperwork bring more questions. The Immigration FAQ cites Section 29 (a) and (b) of the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940 for the grounds of exclusion; the common ones are persons likely to become a public charge, persons convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude, and persons not properly documented as that law requires. Keep your return ticket and accommodation booking on your phone; for what to do if you are taken aside, see secondary inspection. For individual cases, consult a practising lawyer; this article is not legal advice.
5. Being stopped at exit, or missing an ECC. Why: Immigration defines “deferred departure” as a traveller being disallowed to depart for reasons determined by immigration personnel at the port of exit. The other kind is self-inflicted: per the Immigration FAQ, foreign nationals who hold a Temporary Visitor Visa and have stayed six months or more, who hold an expired or downgraded visa, or who hold a valid visa but are leaving for good must secure an ECC before departure. The FAQ says to apply at least 72 hours before departure; the certificate is valid for one month and can be used only once. Exact groups and the application channel follow Immigration’s current notices.
6. Bag did not arrive. Why: checked bags are sometimes misrouted or late. As soon as you see it is missing, go to the Interline Baggage Section in the baggage claim hall with your ticket and bag-tag stub; the desk sits in the baggage claim hall at T1, the T2 north wing and T3.
7. Carry-on items pulled for a re-check. Why: liquids, aerosols and gels must be no more than 100 millilitres per container, in a resealable plastic bag, no more than 1 litre in total; power banks must travel in the cabin, never checked, and have a capacity limit; selfie sticks, tripods and large batteries are often stopped. Take them out separately in advance and you save the ten-odd minutes of unpacking.
8. No signal, QR code will not open. Why: parts of NAIA have unstable signal and network. The eTravel site states that it is free and offers English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese; its home page does not say how long before arrival to register, so follow the eTravel site’s current instructions. If a page asks you to pay for registration, go back to the official site and check.
9. Being scammed by a private currency swap. Why: on 22 December 2023 the Chinese embassy in the Philippines issued a reminder about people who lure victims into private exchanges at a “favourable rate”, ask them to transfer yuan from a domestic account, promise pesos in person, then disappear after the transfer. The embassy advises using banks and other formal channels only. In the airport, stick to counters with proper signage, a rate board and receipts, and change only enough for the first day; see whether to change money at Manila airport.
10. Being swarmed after customs. Why: the arrival hall is crowded and people approach you to sell rides. Use a pre-booked pickup or the official ride-hailing waiting area; if you are hiring a car, understand how it is priced first, see how car-hire pricing works in the Philippines.

What these ten share: they all happen where people assumed they did not need to prepare. Terminal number, bag-tag code, QR screenshot and ECC timing are all things you can check in a few minutes before you leave.

The downsides: where NAIA is the wrong tool, and where you can waste a trip

After all the how-to, it is fair to say where NAIA is unfriendly, or where this article cannot help.

• Tight landside connections. Moving between buildings relies on the operator’s connecting shuttle, which runs once an hour on ground roads, so budget more than an hour for the change. Tight international-to-domestic connections, or separate tickets, are the ones most likely to miss the next leg. If you must do it, read how to plan a Manila layover first.
• Anyone who wants to see a traveller all the way through. The door security check keeps out anyone without that day’s itinerary. This is not negotiable and no amount of queueing solves it.
• Flights that sit in a peak. International departures cluster in the early morning and from evening into the small hours. If yours falls in a peak, everything from the door check to immigration slows at once, and “three hours early” becomes the floor, not a comfortable margin.
• Anyone tempted to jump a shorter queue. Overseas Filipino workers have dedicated lanes at some steps, but those lanes do not apply to foreign travellers, and the OFW Lounge is built for them too, so an ordinary foreign traveller should not treat it as a public lounge; entry conditions are set on site. Joining the wrong queue only wastes your time.
• Choosing an airport by name alone. “Manila” is the famous name, but if you are going to northern Luzon, a direct flight into Clark is often less hassle. The reverse also holds: Clark is far from Metro Manila and the only way in is by road, so it may not suit someone who needs to be in Makati or BGC the same day. Pick by where you finally need to be; for hotel districts see which area to stay in for business. Routes and frequencies change, so use the airline’s current schedule when booking.
• Relying on airport connectivity. Signal and network are unstable in parts of NAIA. Save the boarding pass, QR code and itinerary locally; do not plan on “I will look it up when I land”.
• Relying on old guides. Terminal assignments change, and even official pages lag each other. When we read MIAA’s FAQ page in September 2026, its list still showed Air China and Shenzhen Airlines under T1, which does not match the newer terminal table from the operator NNIC cited above. Treat this article, and any guide, as a starting point, and check your airline itinerary and NNIC’s current notice before you leave.
• What this article does not cover. Declaration limits, travel tax, terminal fees and airport charges involve figures and amounts, which we do not give; follow the competent authority’s current notice. For cases such as refused entry, being stopped at exit or overstaying, consult a practising lawyer; this article is not legal advice.

If it is your first trip and you would rather not work through all of this at the airport yourself, you can hand the day-of transfer and paperwork arrangements to our settle-in service. We help with document compliance and follow-up, but whether entry is permitted rests with Immigration and the other competent authorities.

Official sources and last check

This section lists the official pages used for this check and what we did, and did not, find on them.

• MIAA FAQ page: advises passengers to confirm bookings, flight status and travel guidelines with their airline’s website or app, and says contracts of carriage differ; lists airlines by T1, T2 and T3 and lists the government agencies stationed at NAIA. Its terminal lists may lag the operator’s changes.
• MIAA operational statistics page: statistics by all terminals combined, cargo, general aviation and each terminal, with a Terminal 4 category still present.
• Bureau of Immigration FAQ: who needs an ECC, when to apply and validity; the definition of deferred departure; and common grounds for exclusion at arrival.
• eTravel website: the Philippine Travel Information System, stated to be free, with English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese interfaces; the home page does not say how long before arrival to register.
• Bureau of Customs website: the home page lists guidelines for airport passengers, a digitalised baggage and currency declaration process (e-Baggage), and sections on prohibited and restricted imports and foreign currency; specific allowances are not stated on the home page, so follow Customs’ current guidance.
• Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP): the aviation regulator; its site carries aviation regulations, aerodrome certification status and related information.
• Chinese embassy in the Philippines, consular protection and assistance page: its consular reminders section lists the 22 December 2023 reminder about currency exchange scams.

What we could not read directly: NNIC’s website is not a .gov.ph domain, and we could not open it this time. Operational information on terminal assignment, the connecting shuttle and baggage storage is compiled from NNIC pages cited in our already-verified articles. Before you travel, open NNIC’s site and your airline itinerary yourself and check again. Figures such as airport charges, travel tax and declaration limits follow the competent authority’s current notice.

Yixing is a private consultancy, not an official body and not acting for any government department. For individual cases such as refused entry, being stopped at exit or overstaying, consult a practising lawyer; this article is not legal advice. If you need paperwork handled, start with our visa and HR service.

Last checked: September 2026.

Philippine Airport Wi-Fi: The Limits of NAIA's Free Network and How to Get Connected After Landing

NAIA has free Wi-Fi on a network called NewNAIA. According to NNIC, each session gives up to three hours of free access and no longer asks for personal information. It is fine for emergencies, but it is not a substitute for your own mobile data.

When NNIC announced the upgrade in October 2024, it said the free network is provided by PLDT/Smart and Converge and can be used across the terminals. Three things are worth knowing in practice:

• It slows down at peak times. When many people are connected at once, speeds drop noticeably, so do not plan to download anything large after landing.
• There is a time cap. Whether you can reconnect after three hours or after a dropped session depends on what the login page tells you on the day. If you have a long wait, have a backup.
• Public networks are not for sensitive tasks. Leave online banking and large e-wallet transfers until you are on your own data.

The safer approach is to prepare your phone before you fly. Save a screenshot of your eTravel QR code (see the eTravel registration guide), keep your hotel address and booking confirmation available offline, and put your driver's contact details in a note. Booking a Grab after you land needs a working connection; for the right way to get a ride from the airport, see how to get a ride in the Philippines.

If you are staying for more than a few days, get a local SIM soon after arrival. SIM cards must be registered, and tourists and long-stay residents need different documents; for choosing a network and a plan, see Philippine SIM cards and data plans. The same logic applies to cash: change only what you need for the first day at the airport, as explained in whether to change money at Manila airport.

If this trip is the start of a longer stay rather than a holiday, Yixing's settling-in service can help line up housing, documents and day-to-day arrangements after you land. If you are thinking of buying property to live here, first read whether buying property in the Philippines gives you residency. If you will later want to use a Philippine driver's licence back in Taiwan, Hong Kong or mainland China, see converting a Philippine licence at home.