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Airports are de facto showcases for most countries and all perform the same
functions as transport terminals. However, it could not be insulated from the
visions of the governments that created it. The buildings stand for the embrace of
travel as social, cultural and economic necessities and airports have become
symbolic, stood witness and responded to the political and the all-too pervasive
economic pressures that airports have to play in the life of a country.
NAIA 1 is symbolic and witness to the country’s Martial Law past while NAIA 2
presents a vision of what the country could possibly be – clean, bright and
efficient. In both cases, the existing operating NAIA terminals functionally and
symbolically represent what is Filipino in terms of experience, culture and
responsiveness to the world that is literally flying into and out of the country.
It is to be emphasized however that although these terminals have been created
by almost divergent design sensibilities of a Filipino architect and a French airport
terminal corporation, both have to be subjected to the operational, cultural and
political dynamics that is inherent in the operations of an airport. Design
showcases as they are in their own right, play second fiddle when uncomfortably
too many passengers pass through the arrival and departure halls, 20 board the
aircraft gates, park their cars or even use the toilets.
Function and design, in that order dictates how passengers – the ultimate and the
most direct stakeholders of the said terminals are to determine if such become
cultural showcases or not.
The $128 million state-of-the-art international airport can handle approximately
2 million passengers annually, and 84,600 tons of cargo annually. The airport's
new Malay architecture-inspired terminal building costs P1 billion, and is four
times bigger than the old airport terminal. It is highly computerized, more secure,
and has more commercial spaces ( approximately 9,000 sq. m ) for its
concessionaires. The terminal has 14 domestic and international counters that
can handle a steady flow of passenger traffic. It is equipped with the latest
navigational, security, and baggage handling equipments. The Check-In counters
have electronic weighing scales, conveyors, and its baggage handling system is
also highly computerized. It has four units of boarding bridges for passengers,
where baggage are regularly screened three times prior to passenger boarding. A
Flight Information Display System, and a Closed Circuit Television
System complement the terminal's security system.

The 209-hectare airport was constructed in four years’ time, and was officially
inaugurated and opened to the public on December 2, 2003. The airport has a
single 3,000-meter precision runway that can accommodate wide-body aircraft.
The Landing Instrumentation System (ILS) for its Runways 05 and 23 is compliant
to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) operating category -
Precision Approach Category 1. It can accommodate 8 to 10 aircraft landings per
hour, and has 8 gate holding areas for aircraft.

The upgraded airport was funded through a loan from the Asian Development
Bank in 1994, which provided $41 million, while the European Investment Bank
provided $23 million. The original cost of the project was $105 million but due to
foreign exchange escalation costs, the Asian financial crisis, and land acquisition
costs, total cost of the Project amounted to $128 million.

The airport's Air Traffic Control Tower is considered as one of the most
sophisticated in the Philippines. Besides the main terminal building, there are also
support facilities: Administration Building, the Central Plant Building, Airfield
Maintenance Building, and Fire, Crash and Rescue Building. The facilities have a
688-slot car parking space, and 4 slots for shuttle buses. It has a 3-megawatt
standby power generator. There are also 2 Mabuhay lounges of Philippine Airlines
inside the airport premises.