Asia - Manila airport transfer between terminals

Hello. I'm planning on visiting the Philippines in June and heard that unless you're flying PAL that you may need to transfer terminals for international and domestic flights. Does anyone know if there is a shuttle service between Terminals 2 and 3? If so, what are the rates, how often do they run and how long does it take? Also, would it be cheaper than taking a taxi?

Hello. I'm planning on visiting the Philippines in June and heard that unless you're flying PAL that you may need to transfer terminals for international and domestic flights. Does anyone know if there is a shuttle service between Terminals 2 and 3? If so, what are the rates, how often do they run and how long does it take? Also, would it be cheaper than taking a taxi?

Hi moodysf,
There is a shuttle that runs between the terminals and is free of charge. Once you exit the terminal, just find the sign for the shuttle or ask one of the security officers as to where that shuttle stops. There are also some jeepneys that run between terminals and cost 10 pesos or so. Enjoy the Philippines - it is absolutely gorgeous!

PS: This info is true as of last August - not sure if it has changed since then...

Hi moodysf,
There is a shuttle that runs between the terminals and is free of charge. Once you exit the terminal, just find the sign for the shuttle or ask one of the security officers as to where that shuttle stops. There are also some jeepneys that run between terminals and cost 10 pesos or so. Enjoy the Philippines - it is absolutely gorgeous!

PS: This info is true as of last August - not sure if it has changed since then...

Thanks tanzaniancane, do you happen to know how long it takes to get from one terminal to another? I need to figure out how much time to buffer between flights.

Thanks tanzaniancane, do you happen to know how long it takes to get from one terminal to another? I need to figure out how much time to buffer between flights.

The "shuttle" works on Philippines time - ie, i think it is meant to go every 10 minutes, but it might leave in 5 or 15 minutes. It does a loop between the 4 airports, so can take time, depending on traffic. If you are in a hurry, grab a metered taxi (the yellow taxis are available, on the left as you walk out of the terminal - assuming you are flying in on an international non-PR flight). Terminal 3 is the "new" terminal, but not sure what stop it is after Terminal 2 - maybe the next one?. Easy just to ask the guard at the bus station and they will tell you. If you are in doubt then, just get a taxi (P70 for the first 500m, then P4 for every 300m).

which airlines are you taking? from which terminal to which? there is scheduled shuttle as discussed here and if you have time of around 30 minutes or so, the shuttle will do but otherwise, just grab a taxi cab. if you are from the international airport (terminal 1) to centennial terminal/philippine airlines (terminal 2) or vice versa, it's an easy 5-minute walk between these two terminals

Any update on transfer experiences at Manila lately?

I am planning a transfer from Cebu Pacific (T3) to Cathay Pacific (T1) and would like to know best options, typical time, busy periods etc.

Chances are our Cebu flight will arrive at MNL around 3:30p and our CX flight departs MNL at 5:50. That essentially means we need to be at the check-in counter by 5pm. Feasible?

I am planning a transfer from Cebu Pacific (T3) to Cathay Pacific (T1) and would like to know best options, typical time, busy periods etc.


Just curious as to why you're not taking CX straight from CEB?

Just curious as to why you're not taking CX straight from CEB?

I mean Cebu Pacific, not Cebu the city, although we are coming from CEB :-).

That said, the answer is availability issues--no award space from CEB direct.

That said, the answer is availability issues--no award space from CEB direct.

Gotcha! Have some fresh lato for me while you're there.

Any update on transfer experiences at Manila lately?

I am planning a transfer from Cebu Pacific (T3) to Cathay Pacific (T1) and would like to know best options, typical time, busy periods etc.

Chances are our Cebu flight will arrive at MNL around 3:30p and our CX flight departs MNL at 5:50. That essentially means we need to be at the check-in counter by 5pm. Feasible?


Yeah, I don't think it would be to much of a problem getting to T1 by 5pm as long as you get your bags pretty quick and there isn't a long line for taxis at T3. I would worry much more about checking in, going through customs and security in so short a time. Having said that, I've never left MNL that late in the day so I've no idea how busy the terminal is at that time.

Any update on transfer experiences at Manila lately?

I am planning a transfer from Cebu Pacific (T3) to Cathay Pacific (T1) and would like to know best options, typical time, busy periods etc.

Chances are our Cebu flight will arrive at MNL around 3:30p and our CX flight departs MNL at 5:50. That essentially means we need to be at the check-in counter by 5pm. Feasible?

I recommend checking in online, and then inquiring at NAIA-3 information about the inter-terminal shuttle. PR recommends that passengers allot three hours for inter-terminal transfers. If all else fails, you can take the airport taxi, or you can go back up to departures and take a regular white taxi.

Just a fair warning: traffic gets heavy on Andres Avenue by around 5:00-6:00 pm due to evening rush hour and the way traffic flows there.

I'm looking at an itinerary currently as follows:
Philippine Airlines: Tagbilaran -> Manila (T2), landing at 1815hrs
Singapore Airlines: Manila (T1) -> Singapore, departing at 1850hrs

Two questions:
* Would Philippine Airlines allow baggage to be checked in to the SQ flight?
* Assuming the above works, would there be sufficient time with a taxi to transfer to the SQ flight or do I plan to spend a night in Manila (1850 is the last SQ flight out)?

Thoughts appreciated; thanks.

I'm looking at an itinerary currently as follows:
Philippine Airlines: Tagbilaran -> Manila (T2), landing at 1815hrs
Singapore Airlines: Manila (T1) -> Singapore, departing at 1850hrs
Wow, that seems way too short a connection time.:eek:

Wow, that seems way too short a connection time.:eek:

Yeah, that's not going to work.

I'm looking at an itinerary currently as follows:
Philippine Airlines: Tagbilaran -> Manila (T2), landing at 1815hrs
Singapore Airlines: Manila (T1) -> Singapore, departing at 1850hrs

Two questions:
* Would Philippine Airlines allow baggage to be checked in to the SQ flight?
* Assuming the above works, would there be sufficient time with a taxi to transfer to the SQ flight or do I plan to spend a night in Manila (1850 is the last SQ flight out)?

Thoughts appreciated; thanks.

To answer your questions:

*PAL does not do interline baggage tagging if the two flights are on two separate itineraries. If that is the case, you will have to claim your bags in MNL before proceeding to NAIA-1 to check in for your SQ flight. I'm not sure though if that is case should the two flights be on one itinerary under a single PNR, so it would be advised to ask.
*There's sufficient time to get to NAIA-1, definitely (you're actually better off riding a public bus, since buses stop just right outside NAIA-1). But with this sort of connection, definitely not.

My advice for you is either to board an earlier TAG-MNL flight, or spend the night in Manila before boarding the next SQ flight the next day. Or, fly PAL to SIN, where your bags can be checked through to SIN when you check in at TAG.

Good information, thanks!

My situation is fine arriving - I arrive on CX from HKG and stay at the Marriott, depart the following day early afternoon to DGT (Dumaguete, Negros Oriental) for some Bohol Sea diving, so plenty of time to do transfers, etc.

The return, Feb 10, I am slightly worried about and welcome your advice and guidance:

PR292 Lv DGT 0845, Ar MNL 1000 Coach (Terminal 3, I presume)

CX900 Lv MNL 1230, Ar HKG 1440 Business (Lv Terminal 1, I presume again)

Separate PNRs.

Is this sufficient time for a connection?

Hello JDiver, I think that should be enough time for the connection.
I think PR292 would arrive at Terminal 2 (centennial terminal) which is nearer to Terminal 1. Do you have any checkin baggage? It took me an hour once for my luggage to come out at the T2 because of many flights arriving at the same time.

Thanks, KIXman! I'll try to get our bags interlined to CX - dive gear, as we are headed to DGT and Dauin just south for some diving and I don't use others' dive gear if I can avoid it.

Hello JDiver, I think that should be enough time for the connection.
I think PR292 would arrive at Terminal 2 (centennial terminal) which is nearer to Terminal 1. Do you have any checkin baggage? It took me an hour once for my luggage to come out at the T2 because of many flights arriving at the same time.

According to a prior post, PR won't let you interline your baggage.
2.5hrs should be just ok, but i would be more worried about your plane leaving on time from DGT.

There are a few later flights on CX, if you do miss it. But not sure what your connections at HKG are like.

Thanks! We have two days in Hongkers, so no worries there. (If we had a connection, I'd have opted for the earlier flight from Dumaguete or arranged an overnight at the Marriott at the NAIA airport - we'll do that on the way southbound.)

Just for others' information we did sign up for Mabuhay Miles, and purchased the Mabuhay Sports Club membership, USD $40 p.a., allows an extra 20 kg / 44 lbs "sports equipment" to the 15 kg / 22 lb domestic baggage allowance without extra fees for that one year. I can't imagine what we will do with the MNL-DGT-MNL Mabuhay Miles, but the baggage $aving$ will be good (we tery to avoid using others' dive gear; we know how outs works, how it has been maintained, etc.)

According to a prior post, PR won't let you interline your baggage.
2.5hrs should be just ok, but i would be more worried about your plane leaving on time from DGT.

There are a few later flights on CX, if you do miss it. But not sure what your connections at HKG are like.

Hello.

I'm planning to travel to the Philippines in Feb but I am a bit stressed by the connection time : will land at 10 am at T1 with CX, then need to catch a CB airlines flight at T3 at 11.15.
I plan to have hand baggages only, and if possible use my kids to go through priority lanes for customs aso (is that possible BTW ?)....
Do you think it can work ? And is your recommendation to grab a taxi or use the free shuttle ?
Thks for your help :)

MNL was a genuine scream.

Some of the arrivals, baggage recover an inspection, security processing etc. were as if they had been designed by children in second grade.

When we were checking in for CX (they decided to put us on an earlier flight) I was separated from my wife on departure for processing at security, and I was put into a short queue. My wife was denied the ability to joined me and was stuck in a lengthy queue, regardless of her request to join me and showing them her boarding pass for a flight that was scheduled to depart quite soon.

In the end we arrived at the gates in time to board - but barely. In my opinion, my wife was ignored and looked down upon by some of the staffers here because of her gender. :td:

In my opinion, my wife was ignored and looked down upon by some of the staffers here because of her gender. :td:

At Terminal 1, the security lines after immigration are (or were) segregated by gender. It wouldn't surprise me therefore that the male line was short, but the female line was long, should the security lines still be segregated. I don't see how there's any condescending behavior there on the part of the employees of the airport.

However, I don't see why they couldn't accommodate that request, especially given that your flight was coming up. In any scenario though, your wife should have just asked the people in front if she could cut the line because you were rushing to get to your gate.

The original queue was a long, gender-integrated one. They opened a new queue and ushered a few of us into it, mostly men but iirc not all, and botched the process by ignoring who was selected, regardless of urgency etc. They were dismissive of my wife when she attempted to communicate - I know what that is - and they corralled her back into her original spot when she attempted to follow. They also ignored my requests, but it was more than that with my wife, who is a seasoned traveller and not anyone to flaunt DYKWIA or the like.

Not a huge deal, and I'll drink a San Miguel to many of the airport's personnel. But this incident was what we call a "cluster" - er, never mind.

Salamat for the reply.

At Terminal 1, the security lines after immigration are (or were) segregated by gender. It wouldn't surprise me therefore that the male line was short, but the female line was long, should the security lines still be segregated. I don't see how there's any condescending behavior there on the part of the employees of the airport.

However, I don't see why they couldn't accommodate that request, especially given that your flight was coming up. In any scenario though, your wife should have just asked the people in front if she could cut the line because you were rushing to get to your gate.

Hello.

I'm planning to travel to the Philippines in Feb but I am a bit stressed by the connection time : will land at 10 am at T1 with CX, then need to catch a CB airlines flight at T3 at 11.15.
I plan to have hand baggages only, and if possible use my kids to go through priority lanes for customs aso (is that possible BTW ?)....
Do you think it can work ? And is your recommendation to grab a taxi or use the free shuttle ?
Thks for your help :)

I dont believe there are such thing as priority lines at customs. My last experience landing at 10am was that immigration was kinda light, therefore, you may make it to your T3 flight. But at best, i would say its only 50% chance, even if the immigration line is light, you would still have to get a taxi to go from T1 to T3 and unless its sunday, traffic will be heavy. i highly recommend you changing your flight. Otherwise, good luck and happy travels!

Hello.

I'm planning to travel to the Philippines in Feb but I am a bit stressed by the connection time : will land at 10 am at T1 with CX, then need to catch a CB airlines flight at T3 at 11.15.
I plan to have hand baggages only, and if possible use my kids to go through priority lanes for customs aso (is that possible BTW ?)....
Do you think it can work ? And is your recommendation to grab a taxi or use the free shuttle ?
Thks for your help :)I think that's very tight, CX international T1 to 5J domestic T3, minimum legal connecting time is 2 hours, if you're connecting to 5J international I think it's even longer.

I dont believe there are such thing as priority lines at customs. My last experience landing at 10am was that immigration was kinda light, therefore, you may make it to your T3 flight. But at best, i would say its only 50% chance, even if the immigration line is light, you would still have to get a taxi to go from T1 to T3 and unless its sunday, traffic will be heavy. i highly recommend you changing your flight. Otherwise, good luck and happy travels!This is true and if I were in this situation, I would take a taxi. However if pgalloy is arriving around Lunar New Year (Feb 10th - 24th 2013), the inbound flights will be very full (especially CX from HKG) and the corresponding immigration lines will be long. Also, watch out for arriving flights from other places where the LNY is celebrated like Korea, the Koreans comprise the largest group of visitor arrivals (24% from Jan-Nov 2012).

Last year, I arrived MNL on Jan 25th 2012 (LNY started on Jan 23rd) and stood in the immigration line for 50 minutes (TG: Terminal 1) at mid-day. Due to the inefficiency of this airport, we still had to wait for our bags at the carousel. You would think that almost one hour after flight arrival the bags would have been waiting in the claim area.

Furthermore, I believe that 5J cuts off check-in at 45 minutes prior to flight departure.

And to add to your anxiety, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport is officially a NO WANG WANG zone: :confused:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/members/mr-roboto-albums-misc-picture5027-no-wang-wang-sign-456x506.jpgKeep your wang-wang under control at the airport! :D

Thanks to All for your answers.
Seems that I have to find another later connecting flight, the more so as I will be exactly one of the LNY travellers :(

And to add to your anxiety, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport is officially a NO WANG WANG zone: :confused:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/members/mr-roboto-albums-misc-picture5027-no-wang-wang-sign-456x506.jpgKeep your wang-wang under control at the airport! :D

To the great puzzlement of Filipinos like myself, I am at a loss as to why the MIAA decided to use such language, when only Filipinos will understand what it means. However, I guess I should explain what "wang-wang" is.

Simply put, it's using a siren to cut through traffic. In Filipino, the term "wang-wang" means siren, and it's probably from the sound that a siren makes. Before President Aquino took office in 2010, the practice was very rampant. Normally, only government vehicles could possess sirens, but what happened was that because the possession of sirens was technically unregulated, anyone able enough (usually politicians and wealthy people) could get their hands on one and have it installed in their vehicle, cutting through traffic when others had to deal with it. Call it a very visible example of social stratification and power relations in the Philippines: the rich and powerful can cut through traffic, while the poor and middle class have to stay in traffic.

When President Aquino took office, the first thing he did was ban the use of sirens, except for ambulances, fire trucks and, in very limited circumstances, police vehicles (because politicians sometimes have police convoys in order to go through traffic, to the detriment of those who were not and had to deal with the traffic). People surrendered their sirens and sales numbers plummeted as a result. The President himself refuses to use sirens when traveling by road, for example.

Here's a video link on it (in Filipino, unfortunately). The news clip begins with President Aquino's inauguration speech: he says, "Have you had to suffer in traffic just so some siren-equipped car ruling over you can cut through? I have too."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvfZiQKpChQ

The return, Feb 10, I am slightly worried about and welcome your advice and guidance:

PR292 Lv DGT 0845, Ar MNL 1000 Coach (Terminal 3, I presume)

CX900 Lv MNL 1230, Ar HKG 1440 Business (Lv Terminal 1, I presume again)

Separate PNRs.

Is this sufficient time for a connection?

I think PR292 would arrive at Terminal 2 (centennial terminal) which is nearer to Terminal 1.

MNL-DGT is operated by 2P, so these flights arrive at Terminal 3.

Now PR operates a shuttle bus between Terminals 2 and 3 which, unlike the MIAA bus, goes airside (meaning through the airport compound, not after security, which is a different matter altogether). I don't know if you can board the bus if you're not connecting to an onward PR flight, but you can try getting on anyway. From there, if you can board, it should be easy getting to Terminal 1.

If not, I can tell you that 10:00 am is already after morning rush hour, so you should be fine with a 2.5-hour connection. But check in online beforehand, just in case. The regular MIAA shuttle bus should work in this case: take a taxi if the shuttle bus is too late for your needs.

To the great puzzlement of Filipinos like myself, I am at a loss as to why the MIAA decided to use such language, when only Filipinos will understand what it means. However, I guess I should explain what "wang-wang" is.

Only Filipinos would dare to use it to our advantage anyway so it makes perfect sense to have the language be targetted at us :-)

I booked a business trip to MNL. A couple weeks later, it was decided that I would also jump over to Cebu for a day for work as well. So, these two reservations were booked separately, but the return flights we "aligned." I didn't know at the time that MNL Terminal 1 and MNL Terminals 2 or 3 are almost like different airports.

Here's the connection I need to make:

PAL 836: CEB to MNL (5:00AM / 6:15AM) - Terminal 2 (I presume)
DL 172: MNL to NRT (8:05AM / 1:05PM) - Terminal 1 (I presume)

I've been told that transferring from T3 to T1 is likened to leaving one airport and going to another, and that transferring from T2 to T1 can be accomplished from within the airport, but the walk is around 45 minutes and I'll be "all sweaty by the time [I] get there." There is allegedly a shuttle, or I can hire a car or take a taxi.

As I understand it, I have 1:20 (minus 30 due to checked luggage) to deplane, collect a checked bag (too big for carry-on), board a shuttle, check a bag with Delta, pay a tax to leave the country, and go through security at T1.

Is the walk that bad? Would it be better to shuttle or taxi? Why are these "terminals" of the same airport so incompatible with one another? (That last one was rhetorical.)

Thanks in advance.

I booked a business trip to MNL. A couple weeks later, it was decided that I would also jump over to Cebu for a day for work as well. So, these two reservations were booked separately, but the return flights we "aligned." I didn't know at the time that MNL Terminal 1 and MNL Terminals 2 or 3 are almost like different airports.

Here's the connection I need to make:

PAL 836: CEB to MNL (5:00AM / 6:15AM) - Terminal 2 (I presume)
DL 172: MNL to NRT (8:05AM / 1:05PM) - Terminal 1 (I presume)

I've been told that transferring from T3 to T1 is likened to leaving one airport and going to another, and that transferring from T2 to T1 can be accomplished from within the airport, but the walk is around 45 minutes and I'll be "all sweaty by the time [I] get there." There is allegedly a shuttle, or I can hire a car or take a taxi.

As I understand it, I have 1:20 (minus 30 due to checked luggage) to deplane, collect a checked bag (too big for carry-on), board a shuttle, check a bag with Delta, pay a tax to leave the country, and go through security at T1.

Is the walk that bad? Would it be better to shuttle or taxi? Why are these "terminals" of the same airport so incompatible with one another? (That last one was rhetorical.)

Thanks in advance.

being that you are cutting it close, i would recommend getting the cab as soon as you land in terminal 2. The good thing is you are going domestic to international instead of the other way around. Last time i was in terminal 2 is about a year ago, but if i recall correctly they are the only terminal that had the regular city taxis, instead of airport taxis that charge triple the normal fare. There are also, the airport taxis that go to a specific region that will charge you higher, what ever the case, i would try to get on a normal taxi, if none are available, get on what ever ride there is. However, triple normal filipino fare is still cheap by westerner standards. Expect to pay roughly $4 to $15 for this transfer. That being said, I do believe if you take a taxi, you will make this transfer with no issues, if you choose to walk, you will be walking on highways and may get lost. Good luck

I booked a business trip to MNL. A couple weeks later, it was decided that I would also jump over to Cebu for a day for work as well. So, these two reservations were booked separately, but the return flights we "aligned." I didn't know at the time that MNL Terminal 1 and MNL Terminals 2 or 3 are almost like different airports.

Here's the connection I need to make:

PAL 836: CEB to MNL (5:00AM / 6:15AM) - Terminal 2 (I presume)
DL 172: MNL to NRT (8:05AM / 1:05PM) - Terminal 1 (I presume)

I've been told that transferring from T3 to T1 is likened to leaving one airport and going to another, and that transferring from T2 to T1 can be accomplished from within the airport, but the walk is around 45 minutes and I'll be "all sweaty by the time [I] get there." There is allegedly a shuttle, or I can hire a car or take a taxi.

As I understand it, I have 1:20 (minus 30 due to checked luggage) to deplane, collect a checked bag (too big for carry-on), board a shuttle, check a bag with Delta, pay a tax to leave the country, and go through security at T1.

Is the walk that bad? Would it be better to shuttle or taxi? Why are these "terminals" of the same airport so incompatible with one another? (That last one was rhetorical.)

Thanks in advance.

The walk is not that bad: there's a service road connecting Terminals 2 and 1 through the Cargo Terminal, and it will only take you 15 minutes at most. You will not walk along the highway, and if you like planespotting, you will get wonderful up-close views of the tarmac at Terminal 1.

Buses and jeepneys also ply along that road, so feel free to take a bus instead and go down at Terminal 1 if you don't want to walk (the fare is P12 for the bus; P8 for the jeepney). The bus stop is located close to the departure ramp at Terminal 2: when you exit the terminal onto arrivals, turn left and go all the way to the service road: you'll see buses stop by there already. Whoever gave you that 45-minute walk along the highway spiel is completely nuts, as far as I'm concerned, unless you're coming from Terminals 3 or 4.

You can also take the airport shuttle bus, but since you're cutting it close, I won't recommend it here.

If you can, try having your bags checked through: PR and DL have an interline agreement if my memory serves me right. However, I know they refuse to do this in MNL: you might have better luck in CEB.