Manila’s Domestic Terminal 4, A Review

Posted By Jon Nickel-D'Andrea on Dec 16, 2016 | 2 comments

Just a quick 10 minute drive from the Manila City of Dreams Hyatt hotel was the Manila domestic terminal. It’s not connected to the international terminal so to get there you can either leave and take a taxi, or you can take the shuttle bus that’s offered to get there for free. It leaves around ever 20-30 minutes, but don’t think that getting a taxi will be any quicker. It’s also about 15 minutes in taxi because of the traffic lights, so waiting for the free transfer bus is usually the best option!

After the uber rolled off, our next stop was a security guard outside. He was checking passports and tickets, so many sure to have either a printed itinerary or boarding passes ready for inspection. No tickets, no entry.

We once again passed the first layer of security, scanning our bags and metal detectors before even getting into the main foyer of the airport.

Manila Domestic Terminal Sign

It was pretty small, as there are only four airlines that serve this terminal. Cebu Pacific, Air Swift, SkyJet, and Air Asia. The Air Swift counters were manned with 15 staff for flights that only hold 55 people onboard. Then again with average wages around $5-8 a day, I suppose that you can have a lot of people and it’ll still be profitable.

I will give Air Swift credit for one thing, they do have pretty awesome boarding passes.

Boarding passes in hand, we passed another security check and bag screen and were dumped into the general waiting area.

If you were craving a taste of home, never to fear. Papa John’s, Seattle’s Best, and Cinnabon were all there to take care of you.

Seattle’s Worst…

Notice how the Papa John’s has a DELIVERY OPTION? WHAT? YOU’RE IN THE AIRPORT? What are you going to do?  Call and have them take it three rows of chairs over? 🙂 I’m tempted to try this next time…

The coffee experience however, yea no. They’re on “Break Time!†☺

Experience it another time

If you’re feeling the need to be slightly religious, the Virgin Mary was there to help you as well.

Manila Virgin Mary

Air Swift has their own dedicated waiting area, where you get a fun little snack bag for the flight.

And, before you head to the gate, you are given a sticker to make sure they know which flight you’re on. Seriously. A sticker 🙂 How cute!

Air Swift Sticker

With that, we headed to the gate (right in front of us) and on to boarding.

Don’t expect many facilities from the domestic terminal. There are clean, staffed bathrooms, a couple of food stalls, and a well air conditioned waiting room. The Wifi is fast and free, and overall, it’s a good place to hang out while you wait for your flight. Ignore the “2 hour†rule, whereas you need to get to your flight 2 hours before arrival, as this airport is small and can handle you pretty quickly. I’d say that 1 hour to 1 hour 15 is a good measure of time. Enjoy the wait, do some people watching, and get ready for your next adventure ☺