Terminal 1

NAIA Terminal 1 is Manila's original major international terminal. Construction began in 1978 under the Manila International Airport Development Project, and for many years, this was the terminal most international passengers used when flying in or out of the capital.

The terminal was designed by the architectural firm of National Artist Leandro Locsin and was originally built for about 4.5 million passengers a year. It reached that capacity as early as 1991, and was later renovated to handle up to 6.5 million. Even so, international traffic kept outgrowing the building. Before Terminal 3 became fully operational, Terminal 1 had to carry much of NAIA's international load, which made it one of the airport's most congested terminals.

Today, Terminal 1 is still an important international terminal. It handles Philippine Airlines' international flights, selected foreign airlines, and AirAsia's international services after the latest terminal reassignments. Its role is now clearer than before: it is one of NAIA's two main international processing terminals, together with Terminal 3.