Me and my barkada fetched a friend of ours who is coming to Manila that night. He’ll be having an overnight stopover before he is to go to Dubai via Singapore. Coincidentially, this was also my first time to enter one of the most controversial yet modern airport terminals in the country, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.
Yeah, I don’t want to delve in with its controversies. Baka kailanganin pa ng separate article, hehe!! This was envisioned several years ago that got controversial due to allegations of corruption between the contractors, operators and the government. It was supposed to be opened 2 years ago but was postponed due to a portion of the ceiling collapsed, adding up fuel to the already burning issue.
But thank goodness they’ve opened the terminal for public use. Cebu Pacific Air moved its operations from that cramped old domestic terminal of MIA. “It’s heaven for us,” if we put that in Lance Gokongwei’s words. Yeah, heaven because of the large amount of space and the modern facilities that the domestic terminal clearly lacks. Air Philippines and PAL Express also moved their operations here.
Even though its aesthetically not that “modern” as some critique says, or the famous “Where MRT station meets the mall” quote from one of the professors, its large departure check-in lobby is spacious with large pylons and the utilization of the natural lighting. The departure area is at Level 3 of the terminal building while the arrival area is at the ground floor.
Getting here is quite a problem for commuters especially that tricycles and jeepneys are banned to enter the NAIA premises. You may take the Nicols-Baclaran jeepney and ends up near Villamor Air Base. The most convenient is by taxi, of course its quite expensive. Take note that like Terminal 2 or 1, there are “yellow cabs” that operate within the airport. They say they charged a fixed amount of PhP600.00, more like coupon taxis. But if you’re searching for metered taxis…just go out of the airport premises and hail a taxi.
Anyway, NAIA Terminal 3 will go on its full international operation sometime this last quarter of this year if the plan pushes through. It will be a breather from the old Terminal 1 which is suffering from over-utilization and age.
Well, I’m just until where well-wishers are limited. I haven’t explored that much of the new infrastructure but I’m sure I’ll come back to investigate, hehe!! 
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