The Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 was completed in 1981 to accommodate the country's growing international passenger traffic levels during the 1970s.

Designed by Leandro Locsin, a National Artist of the Philippines for Architecture, it breached its 4.5 million annual passenger capacity in 1991. Improvements to the airport increased its capacity to 6 million passengers yearly.

The 16-gate terminal currently services all international flights coming into Manila, except for those operated by Cebu Pacific Air, PAL Express, Philippine Airlines, All Nippon Air (ANA), Delta Air Lines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Emirates Airline, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific Airways. Its 78 check-in counters and 24 immigration stations process the daily stream of passengers departing for various worldwide ports, while 28 immigration stations speed up the flow of arriving travelers.