History
The original airport that served Manila, the Manila International Air Terminal, was opened in July 1937 at Nielson Field, the runways of which now form Ayala Avenue and Paseo de Roxas in Makati. In 1948, following Philippine independence, 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 present-day Terminal 2.
In 1954 the airport's international runway and associated taxiway were built, and in 1956 the construction was started on a control tower and a terminal building for the use of international passengers. The new terminal was inaugurated on September 22, 1961. On January 22, 1972, a fire caused substantial damage to the original terminal building, and a slightly smaller terminal was rebuilt in its place the following year. This second terminal would become the country's international terminal until 1981 when a new, higher-capacity terminal, known today as Terminal 1, was built to replace it.
The old international terminal would serve as Manila's domestic airport until another fire damaged it in May 1985. The present Terminal 1, originally named Manila International Airport, was given its present name on August 17, 1987 by virtue of Republic Act No. 6639, with the intention of honouring Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr., who was assassinated at the airport after returning to the Philippines from his self-imposed exile in the United States on August 21, 1983. Plans for a new terminal were conceived in 1989, when the Department of Transportation and Communications commissioned Aéroports de Paris to do a feasibility study to expand capacity.
The recommendation was to build two new terminals, and in 1998 Terminal 2 was completed. Terminal 2 was nicknamed the Centennial Terminal as its completion coincided with the 100th anniversary of Philippine independence from Spain. In 1997 the government approved the construction of Terminal 3, which was originally scheduled to be completed in 2002. After many delays caused by technical and legal issues, the terminal became fully operational in mid-2008. The government aims to return services from many of the airlines which cancelled services to Manila as a result of the current Terminal 1's problems.
Read more about this topic: Ninoy Aquino International Airport
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