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Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Set your expectations low and arrive early at this airport
The airport Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL), the main gateway to the Philippines. The flight QF98 from Manila to Brisbane (BNE). The arrival My Qantas flight takes off at 2.45am. That might seem like a gate slot sent straight from Hades, but in Manila, it's a godsend. The Philippines capital has a well-deserved reputation for having some of the worst traffic congestion in the world. I've been staying at Shangri-La The Fort in the Bonifacio Global City, an eight-kilometre car ride to Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Leaving the hotel around midnight means Manila's traffic, though still busy, doesn't turn a short journey into an epic crawl. The look For a country with cultural connection to colour, flowers and lush leafiness, the grey upon grey of the airport is unforgivable – except perhaps on the grounds that a new mega-airport is being built for Manila, set to open before 2030. Still, 50 million people passed through these terminals in 2024. And more Australians are using it – my Qantas flight is a new service and Cebu Pacific is ramping up its Sydney-Manila runs. Both airlines use Terminal 3, which became fully operational in 2008, four years behind schedule. It's by all accounts much more efficient and better designed than the older terminals, and new private ownership by the giant conglomerate San Miguel Corporation (yes, they also make beer) is seeing ongoing improvements.
The Age
5 days ago
- The Age
Set your expectations low and arrive early at this airport
The airport Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL), the main gateway to the Philippines. The flight QF98 from Manila to Brisbane (BNE). The arrival My Qantas flight takes off at 2.45am. That might seem like a gate slot sent straight from Hades, but in Manila, it's a godsend. The Philippines capital has a well-deserved reputation for having some of the worst traffic congestion in the world. I've been staying at Shangri-La The Fort in the Bonifacio Global City, an eight-kilometre car ride to Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Leaving the hotel around midnight means Manila's traffic, though still busy, doesn't turn a short journey into an epic crawl. The look For a country with cultural connection to colour, flowers and lush leafiness, the grey upon grey of the airport is unforgivable – except perhaps on the grounds that a new mega-airport is being built for Manila, set to open before 2030. Still, 50 million people passed through these terminals in 2024. And more Australians are using it – my Qantas flight is a new service and Cebu Pacific is ramping up its Sydney-Manila runs. Both airlines use Terminal 3, which became fully operational in 2008, four years behind schedule. It's by all accounts much more efficient and better designed than the older terminals, and new private ownership by the giant conglomerate San Miguel Corporation (yes, they also make beer) is seeing ongoing improvements.
