After 33 years of continuous use, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 1 will install nine new aerobridges by December this year.
Another 11 new aerobridges are scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2019, according to Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa) General Manager Ed V. Monreal.
The first phase of the P319-million project entails the design, manufacturing, factory testing, delivery and installation of new and customized units of apron-type and pedestal-type passenger boarding bridges (PBB).
“Soon Naia 1 passengers would be treated to more modern aerobridges as they disembark or board their flights,” Monreal said.
The airport chief announced that Miaa has embarked on replacing the 30-year-old PBBs with new ones.
“Currently being implemented is Phase 1, with a total project cost of P318,998,885.98, and actual replacement will start this week,” Monreal said, adding the completion of Phase 1 is in December 2018.
“Phase 2, on the other hand, is due for bidding with actual implementation expected to commence by the first quarter of 2019,” he added.
The passenger boarding bridge connects the airport walkway directly to the aircraft. It provides ease and convenience to passengers and protects them both the elements, especially during inclement weather.
The new aerobridges are made of glass wall, instead of steel like the previous ones. The units are air-conditioned and equipped with CCTV camera with a view of the apron. The bridges are also designed with programmable motor controller and are GPU (ground power unit) ready.
Passenger Aerobridge Number 8 became an iconic landmark when former Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr., was assassinated on the stairs in 1983, when he was forcibly taken out of a China Airlines plane while returning from self-exile in the United States. A commemorative marker had been placed on the tarmac at the exact spot where his blood-spattered body had fallen.
Subsequent improvements have been made on this aerobridge when a new steel staircase was installed beside the old one to accommodate the new types of longer, higher capacity commercial airplanes, rendering the old stairs useless.
Thus, there is no basis to allegations that a new steel staircase was installed to conceal the old one the late Aquino used when he descended to his death in the hands of military men who accompanied him.
Media Affairs Department chief Connie Bungag said the bridges being replaced have been in operation for more than three decades “and are now outdated rendering them unreliable with frequent breakdowns occurring from time to time.”
She added that Japanese firm Shinmaywa Industries Inc. supplied the original 20 aerobridges in the late-1970s, when Naia 1 was under construction. The units were the first of its kind in the Philippines back then.
Shenzhen CIMC-TianDa Airport Support Ltd (CIMC-TIanDa) is supplying the new aerobridges for Naia 1. The company’s core business is airport support equipment, among others, Bungag said.
To date, the company has supplied over 4000 units of passenger boarding bridges in 200 airports worldwide exported to more than 60 countries since it began manufacturing PBBs in 1989.
“The Miaa is doing its best to make the Naia [a] world-class airport that Filipinos could be proud of. Rest assured that the Miaa will try to make a difference for the benefit of the air riding public,” Monreal said.
Since he took over in 2016, Monreal was able to remove the premier airport from the list of “The Worst Airport in the World.”
He said he would consider proposals to connect all the Naia passenger terminals by a rail system, instead of the current passenger bus that could barely accommodate the number of passengers wanting to transfer from one terminal to another.
Currently, only passengers with connecting flights could take the bus from Naia 1 to Naia 2, 3 and 4.