All but one of my work trips were flown via Philippine Airlines through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2. The terminal is also referred to as centennial terminal since it’s completion in 1998 coincided with Philippines’ 100th year of independence from Spain (although a marker in the terminal said it was constructed in August 1999). Today, Centennial caters specifically to local and international flights of Philippine Airlines (PAL, the country’s flag carrier) as NAIA Terminal 3 hosted Cebu Pacific in mid-2008.

When I was working for the two-month JICA study, both PAL and CebuPac operated from this crisp-white, wanna-look-modern airport. The check-in counters were usually divided into two sections, one for each airline. Now, PAL mans all the 28 check-in counters and filled it with the blue, white and red line separators. Gone are the yellow polo shirt-wearing staff of CebuPac and more yellow checkered formal-uniformed staff of PAL welcomed passengers.

I have gone through Terminal 2 dozens of times and probably through all of its boarding gates. I have also done my computing in all of its laptop stations at the boarding area and used both of its comfort rooms. I haven’t eaten on all of the food stalls though as some of them looks intimidating (read: expensive).

To give you an idea of what’s inside the boarding area (especially for those who have never flown via PAL) and as I got a little bored waiting for our flight, here are some fast facts about Terminal 2, mostly for the boarding area of domestic flights. Continue reading NAIA Terminal 2 (Centennial/PAL Airport) →