Passenger volume up in Holy Week

PASSENGER TRAFFIC rose during the Easter travel season, with airport passengers rising by 11.74%, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).

Data released by the CAAP on Tuesday showed that it logged a total of 564,890 passengers, up from 505,511 recorded in the same period in 2025.

This is also higher than the estimated 550,000 passengers across 42 airports under CAAP operations for the Holy Week.

CAAP said the highest passenger traffic was logged at Davao International Airport at 112,322 passengers, followed by Iloilo International Airport at 70,932 passengers, Bacolod-Silay Airport at 51,530 passengers, Puerto Princesa International Airport at 48,340 passengers and Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport at 37,868 passengers.

Separately, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) saw a decrease of passengers at ports after only logging a total of 1.89 million, 21.58% lower than the 2.41 million in the comparable period a year ago.

“If we notice, unlike before when passengers crowded the port, now the high fares and fuel prices have reduced the numbers,” PPA General Manager Jay Daniel R. Santiago said in a media release.

The decline in port passengers this Holy Week period is also lower than the PPA’s earlier passenger projection of 2.46 million between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. — Ashley Erika O. Jose