The Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway (NAIAX), signed as E6 of the Philippine expressway network, is an elevated expressway in Metro Manila, Philippines, which links the Skyway to Ninoy Aquino International Airport and Entertainment City. Traversing the cities of Taguig, Pasay, and Parañaque, the NAIAX runs along Andrews Avenue, Electrical Road, and NAIA Road connecting the Skyway to Ninoy Aquino Avenue, Macapagal Boulevard, New Seaside Drive and the Manila–Cavite Expressway.
The expressway is the first airport expressway in the Philippines. It opened in September 2016. It traverses the cities of Pasay and Parañaque.
Route description
From the Sales Interchange (NAIA Exit) of Skyway, the expressway heads to the southwest and runs along Sales Road across Villamor Airbase and Newport City. It then curves to the northwest on Andrews Avenue towards the entrance to NAIA Terminal 3 and continues along the northern perimeter of the airport towards Electrical Road near NAIA Terminal 4. From here, it makes a turn to the south and runs along Parañaque River, parallel to Domestic Road on the east towards the NAIA Road junction. From this junction, the expressway branches into two, with one traversing eastwards to NAIA Terminals 1 and 2, while the other continues westwards to Entertainment City and the Manila–Cavite Expressway.
Features
The expressway is operated and maintained by Skyway Operations & Maintenance Corporation (SOMCo), the same company that operates Skyway, while its concession holder is SMC NAIAX Corporation (formerly Vertex Tollways Development, Inc.); both companies are subsidiaries of San Miguel Corporation.
Lanes
Prior to the opening of the Skyway expansion project (by eliminating shoulders and shrinking the median) in 2020 that resulted in a grand total of 7 lanes, and due to the lack of right of way available for the project, NAIAX is the second expressway that does not have a shoulder, after North Luzon Expressway between Balintawak to Balagtas (Tabang Interchange) following widening to four lanes as a heavily traveled segment, and the first expressway having a narrow concrete barrier as median. Even though SMC claims that NAIAX is a 4-lane elevated expressway, in fact, SMC via its subsidiary, Vertex Tollways Development, has built 5 to 7 lanes on the expressway without shoulders and with a narrow median barrier, with the configurations listed below.
5-lane zones
2 lanes to Macapagal Boulevard/NAIA Interchange (catering to motorist to/from NAIA Terminal 1 and 2) and 3 lanes to Skyway for (1) half part of the expressway's Parañaque River alignment and (2) the alignment from NAIA Terminal 3 exit (+/- before the exit) to Andrew Ave off-ramp; the first part is configurated to tackle the possible traffic jam by the merging of NAIAX from the airport and Macapagal Boulevard 3 lanes to NAIA Interchange and 2 lanes to Skyway for another half part of the river alignment and above Airport Road to NAIA Terminal 3 Exit 2 lanes to NAIA Interchange and 3 lanes to Macapagal Boulevard west of NAIA Interchange
7-lane zones
These zones are actually 5 lanes with an acceleration lane for each direction to cater vehicles transferring between interchanges that are so close to each other. from NAIA interchange to NAIAX-CAVITEX Interchange, where 4 lanes go westbound and 3 lanes go eastbound (to NAIA) from Skyway to Andrews Avenue off-ramp, where 4 lanes go westbound (to NAIA) and 3 lanes go eastbound
Speed limit
The maximum speed on all segments of the expressway is . The expressway has an overhead speed gantry so drivers can see the speed they cruise on; the gantry itself is located near the eastbound off-ramp to NAIA 3.
History
On July 17, 2001, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her Cabinet approved the construction of the NAIA Expressway, which would be funded through a Japanese loan package, and construction of its interchange with Skyway began on March 17, 2004. Construction of the NAIA Expressway Phase 1 (NAIA Terminal 3 Exit of Skyway) was completed and inaugurated on May 30, 2009. It provided an entry/exit ramp to the then newly-opened NAIA Terminal 3 and Resorts World Manila.