This Airport Guide sets out what passengers can expect to see and do in the international wing at Terminal 2 (T2) of Greater Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (IATA: MNL / ICAO: RPLL / Abbrev.: NAIA)

NOTE: This Airport Guide and the separate posts linked to it should be used only for general guidance and planning purposes. Details may change at any moment and without prior notice.

For the sake of brevity, abbreviations and IATA codes will be used throughout this post in place of full airline or airport names – e.g.; “T2” instead of “Terminal 2”, “MNL” instead of “Ninoy Aquino International Airport”.

To learn more about Ninoy Aquino International Airport (“NAIA”/MNL) as a whole, please click here to view my comprehensive guide covering the Philippines’ busiest aviation hub.

CONTENTS

• Overview
• Location
• Access and Transportation
• Departures
  • Landside (before immigration/security)
  • Airside (after immigration/security)
• Arrivals

OVERVIEW

Completed in 1999 according to plans drawn up by the engineering arm of Aéroports de Paris, T2 was originally designed to serve as a purely domestic terminal. With that in mind, it’s easier to understand why this building – despite its sleek, clean, and visually appealing architecture – seems so ill-suited to the job of handling international flights. The structure was not meant to have immigration checkpoints, customs booths, transit zones, or quarantine screening facilities, all of which had to be shoehorned into whatever space was available.

Unlike MNL’s other terminals – each of which serves multiple airlines – T2 is used exclusively by flag carrier Philippine Airlines (IATA code: PR). Because T2 is unable to support all PR operations under one roof, a limited number of the airline’s international flights use Terminal 1 instead. Consult your booking/ticket details or contact PR directly to confirm which terminal your flight will depart from/arrive at. (This is important as MNL’s terminals are not physically connected and it takes time to travel between them.)

Note that this guide only covers the international wing of T2, which is housed in the northern section of the building. The domestic wing in T2’s southern half is not covered here.

LOCATION

ACCESS AND TRANSPORTATION

To learn more about your options for travelling to or from MNL’s terminals (including T2), please refer to the Access / Transportation section of my MNL Airport Guide.

DEPARTURES

Like most major airport terminals, MNL T2 has separate landside and airside zones.

Landside

The landside zone of T2 includes the publicly accessible area before immigration and final security. As used within this guide (and the sub-guides linked to it), the term “landside” also encompasses certain parts of the terminal that can be entered only by passengers – such as the area around the check-in counters – if these are located before the main pre-departure security checkpoint.

Click here or on the image below to read my separate Airport Guide covering T2’s landside zone.

Airside

The airside zone of T2 covers the restricted, passengers-only area after immigration and final security. This includes the boarding gates, the nearby holding areas, and all lounges and retail/dining facilities accessible only to travellers who have completed pre-departure formalities and passed through border control.

Click here or on the image below to read my separate Airport Guide covering T2’s airside zone.

ARRIVALS

This section includes inbound quarantine and immigration, as well as baggage reclaim and customs control.

Click here or on the image below to read my separate Airport Guide covering T2’s arrivals facilities.