IMMIGRATION
When you leave the airplane you will first go through immigration. For an address in the Philippines, we recommend you put down the hotel where you will be staying at. Please bring a copy of your hotel booking itinerary to show if ask.
NOTE: At immigration they may make you show a return ticket (or a ticket to anywhere out of the country) especially if you don’t have a visa. Most of other nations, are entitled to travel to the Philippines with a Visa-free entry (or visa-on-arrival) valid for 21 days. Please don’t forget to bring a copy of your flight itinerary.
BAGGAGE CLAIM AND CUSTOMS
Next stop after immigration is the baggage claim area. Just next to the immigration area, you can get a baggage cart for free. Locate your bags and proceed to customs. You should have received a customs form on the aircraft. On your customs form, I recommend checking the “NOTHING TO DECLARE” BOX. They no longer require you to write the serial numbers for cameras or computers. We haven’t had a problem or an inspection in years. Many bags are x-rayed before hitting the baggage carousel. They are mainly looking for commercial quantities of items. If they do tag you to open your bags and if you have three or four of something, you can usually claim they are “pasalubong (travel gifts for friends).
KNOW YOUR DESIGNATED AIRPORT TERMINALS AT MANILA
MANILA has four (4) airport terminals, located on four (4) different locations :
a) Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), also called Terminal 1 = for all international flights, except Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific.
b) Centennial Airport, also called NAIA Terminal 2 = all international + domestic of Philippine Airlines only.
c) Terminal 3 = all international + domestic of Cebu Pacific, Air Phil Express & code share flights for Philippine Airlines.
d) Terminal 4 (formerly Manila old Domestic Airport) = flights of Seair / Tiger Airways and Zest Air airlines.
The other point of international entry is CEBU, called Mactan International Airport.
This is directly serviced by the following Asean carriers: Silk Air (Singapore), Cathay Pacific (Hongkong), Cebu Pacific / China Airlines (Taipei), Pal (Narita), PAL /Cebu Pacific (Seoul) and Malaysian Airlines (KUL & Kota Kinabalu).
CLARK Airport, in Northern Luzon, also serviced by low cost carriers like Tiger Airways, Air Asia, Air Phil Express and Cebu Pacific Air.
LAOAG Airport, in Northern Luzon, is mainly used for charter flights to/from China & Taipei.
DAVAO City, on the southern island of Mindanao, Silk Air flies to Singapore
NAIA TERMINAL 1
Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3, remains as the main international terminal for Manila. This is where most international airlines are served. Terminal 1 can get quite crowded especially as one international arrival comes after another during the peak hours of the airport. One A320 aircraft alone can carry about 150 passengers and wide bodied aircraft like the the A330′s and A340′s can carry more than 250 passengers each. Even larger B777′s and B747s carry more than 350 and 400 passengers, respectively. These are just too many for Terminal 1 to handle resulting in long queues at the immigration counters, crowded baggage claim areas and long queues again for customs. These passengers eventually converge along the arrival area driveway across from the well-wishers’ waiting area (two story building) behind which is the open parking area of the airport.
Exiting the jet-way, in the main corridor headed toward the center part of the terminal
In the center part prior to the immigration area, you have a small duty free on your left.
Immigration hall
Read the signs hanging from the ceiling
After clearing immigration, the baggage claim area with the tourist
information desk at the entrance
The belts, the area behind customs
You will find push-carts at the entrance of the baggage claim area (on the left and right side)
Next, is the Customs area
Your designated Local Tour Guide (with a “Special Visitor’s Pass” will be waiting for you right after the Customs Area holding your name tag/sign. However if in case missed, you can go directly to “Security Bank” on your right just after customs, before leaving the baggage claim area. You will meet your Tour Guide there as shown in picture below.
NAIA TERMINAL 3
In Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3, well-wishers and those that are there to pick-up arriving passengers can go inside the main airport unlike with other international terminals in Manila. They can even share meals inside the airport’s food concessionaire area.
Well-wishers meeting arriving passengers at the spacious arrival area concourse.
Crowds form at the exits to check passengers filing out of the arrival area. International passengers come out from the left while domestic passengers from the right.
Your designated Local Tour Guide will be waiting at the well-wishers area holding your name tag/sign. Just in case he missed you, you can go directly to the nearest “Foreign Exchange Counter” (as shown in picture).
There are about 3 exchange counters now at Terminal 3 and this is likely due to the increased number of international flights served by the terminal. On the day of your arrival, you Local Tour Guide will check what is the closest “Foreign Exchange counter” to your “exit gate” as this is yet to be announced.