MANILA, Philippines—Despite the expected decline in air travel due to the worldwide financial crisis, Philippine airport officials on Monday said they would push for full operations at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 in 2009.In his yearend report, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Alfonso Cusi said Terminal 3, which opened partially in July, was now handling about half of its designed capacity of 13 million passengers yearly. The NAIA’s three terminals comprise the main international gateway to the country. Last year, even with the emergence of provincial airports with international flight capabilities, the NAIA complex handled about 90 percent of all international air traffic in the country. Cusi said the past five years had been characterized by a lot of “modest yet meaningful” improvements and reforms in airport operations and allied services, from operational soundness to passenger convenience. On capacity building and other development activities, Cusi said the MIAA embarked on development studies and measures such as the formulation of an updated airport security master plan, updated traffic forecasts and airport capacity analysis, a study on airline accommodation strategy, a feasibility study on additional runway options, and a study on the setting up of the Philippine International Airport Authority. In 2004, the MIAA was mandated by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to exercise administrative supervision and control over all international airports in the country. Jerome Aning | 
