Ninoy Aquino International Airport

The Ninoy Aquino International Airport or NAIA {{Airport codes|MNL|RPLL}} is the international airport that serves Manila, in the Philippines, and its surrounding metropolitan area. It is the main international gateway of the country. Its main alternate airports are both Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Angeles City and Mactan-Cebu International Airport in Cebu City.

History

The original airport that served Manila, the Manila International Air Terminal, was opened in July 1937 on Nielson Field, located in what is now the central business district of Makati. In 1948, the airport was moved to its current site adjacent to the Villamor Airbase, which was then called Nichols Field. The original structure was built on what is now the site of the NAIA-2. In 1981, a new structure was built after a fire damaged the old terminal building, and this new structure is what is now NAIA-1. The new terminal was capable of handling more passengers than the old terminal. Previously named Manila International Airport, it was later renamed to its present name after the EDSA Revolution, in honor of Benigno Aquino Jr., whose nickname was Ninoy. Ninoy was the husband of former president Corazon Aquino, and the opposition senator who was assassinated at the airport shortly after he arrived in the country following his political exile.

Related Topics:
1937 - Nielson Field - 1948 - Villamor Airbase - Nichols Field - EDSA Revolution - Benigno Aquino Jr. - Corazon Aquino

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Plans for a new terminal were conceived in 1989, when the Department of Transportation and Communications commissioned Aéroports de Paris to do a study to expand the Ninoy Aquino International Airport's capacity. The recommendation was two build two new terminals, and so NAIA-2 and NAIA-3 were built in the succeeding years.

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On December 11, 1994, Philippine Airlines Flight 434 was flying on its second leg of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport - Mactan-Cebu International Airport - New Tokyo International Airport (now Narita International Airport) route when a bomb on board exploded, killing a passenger. The airliner was able to make an emergency landing.

Related Topics:
December 11 - 1994 - Philippine Airlines Flight 434 - Mactan-Cebu International Airport - Narita International Airport

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Authorities later found out that Ramzi Yousef planted the bomb on the airliner to test the bomb for his Project Bojinka plot. His project was discovered in Manila after an apartment fire on the night of January 5 and the morning of January 6, 1995.

Related Topics:
Ramzi Yousef - Project Bojinka - Manila - January 5 - January 6 - 1995

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If Project Bojinka had not been discovered, one or more aircraft owned by a U.S. carrier/s flying to Ninoy Aquino International Airport would have blown up over the Pacific Ocean on January 21, 1995 as part of the project's first phase.

Related Topics:
Project Bojinka - U.S. - Pacific Ocean - January 21 - 1995

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