In the middle of the holidays, specifically the period between Christmas and New Year, the traffic in the metro subsides and moves to the ports — bus ports or terminals, seaports, and airports. We see long lines of urban dwellers either leaving to see their families in the provinces or leaving with their families for a quick respite abroad. For those flying to their destinations, there is only one airport of choice, with three terminals serving international travelers, an airport long lagging behind the rest of the world, plagued by controversies left and right.

Coincidentally, right in the middle of the holidays was the deadline for the submission of bids for the NAIA rehabilitation, which has long been beset by delays for various reasons. Now, it is seemingly ready to take off again, at least until a winning bidder is declared convincingly, without threat of disqualification or lawsuit.

The P170.6-billion project initially attracted eight groups who purchased bid documents, but in the end, only four submitted bids on 27 December. They included companies with previous experience in operating Philippine airports, those currently building airports, and those with no experience at all but with financial backing and capacity.

Investing in NAIA could be quite speculative, as there is no clarity about what will happen to NAIA after SMC's Bulacan airport — or the New Manila International Airport — opens in 2027. In the previous administration, there was talk of closing NAIA once the Bulacan airport commenced operations to give way to a new business district accessible via an elevated expressway. If at all, this bidding for rehabilitation should confirm that NAIA shall continue to operate but will be downscaled to handling only domestic flights, like how it is done in major cities such as Tokyo, New York, and London.

This writer was in Hong Kong during the holidays, and the disparity is quite pronounced between the airports. Notably, Hong Kong International Airport on Chek Lap Kok island opened in 1998, over 25 years ago, for the same reasons we are experiencing now. HKIAC changed the landscape of tourism and transportation in Hong Kong, and it continues to do so with a reported 80 percent capacity compared to pre-pandemic levels.

When HKIAC opened in 1998, the Hong Kong government closed the old airport in the Kowloon area, the Kai Tak International Airport. I have vague memories of landing at that airport, and they were a bit frightening since you felt as if the plane would hit one of the surrounding buildings. Now, Kai Tak is undergoing rehabilitation with the opening of a Kai Tak Runway Skypark and the construction of more buildings and even a reclamation site.