Cathay Pacific has been forced to permanently close its excellent Manila lounge, and the apparent reason is not lack of demand or due to any wishes of the Hong Kong carrier. Rather, it looks like NAIA’s operator wants to push passengers into airport-operated lounges and charge airlines for the privilege.

Cathay Pacific Forced To Close Excellent Manila Lounge In Apparent NAIA Revenue Grab

Cathay Pacific has permanently closed its highly-regarded lounge at Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3, a sad loss for Cathay passengers and other oneworld travelers passing through MNL.

As Executive Traveller reports, the lounge closed on May 31, 2026, at the insistence of the airport operator, not because Cathay wanted to close it.

Cathay confirmed the closure in a statement:

“As part of the ongoing terminal redevelopment at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), our Cathay Pacific Lounge in Manila will permanently close on 31 May 2026 following the last Cathay Pacific flight departure from NAIA.”

(I had to re-read that…Cathay Pacific meant after its last departure on 31 May, not it’s last departure *ever* from NAIA)

Cathay added:

“While we have endeavoured to extend the timeline for the lounge’s closure, regrettably we have been unable to do so.”

That sounds very much like Cathay wanted to keep this lounge open and was told no.

That is a shame, because this was not a mediocre contract lounge. Cathay’s Manila lounge opened in 2015 and was one of the better lounges at NAIA Terminal 3, if not the best, with Cathay’s elegant lounge design language, a Noodle Bar, and a far more refined atmosphere than is available in much of the airport.

Other oneworld passengers departing Terminal 3, including those flying Japan Airlines, Qantas, and Qatar Airways benefitted from it.

Beginning June 1, Cathay business class passengers and Cathay Gold and Diamond members are reportedly being directed to the First Meridian Lounge in Terminal 3. Maybe that lounge is fine. Reports suggest it has features like a live teppanyaki station, work pods, a golf simulator, and a kids’ playroom, so it doesn’t sound horrible.

But Cathay had a proven, branded, high-quality lounge that passengers liked. Why force it to close?

This Looks Like A Revenue Grab

Executive Traveller notes that online reports suggest NAIA intends to open its own premium lounges at Terminal 3 and then charge airlines for every eligible passenger sent into those facilities.

If true, this is a classic airport revenue grab.

Instead of allowing airlines to pay rent to operate their own (almost always superior) branded lounges, the airport operator removes the competition, pushes airlines into common-use lounges, and monetizes every lounge visit.

That may be good for the airport operator, but it is not good for passengers…

And it is especially disappointing because NAIA is in the middle of a broader transformation project that may finally turn Manila’s airport into something closer to a first-world facility befitting the people of the Philippines. Manila deserves a better airport. Filipinos deserve a better airport. International visitors deserve an airport that does not feel chaotic and dilapidated.

But forcing out a successful Cathay Pacific lounge in order to steer passengers into airport-controlled lounges reflects the exact old NAIA mentality that needs to die…this is third-world thinking dressed up as redevelopment.

We Have Seen This Movie Before In Bangkok

This reminds me of what happened at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, where several excellent airline lounges like Oman Air And Turkish Airlines were forced to drop Priority Pass as the airport pushed its own airport-operated lounges.

The result? Passengers lost access to better lounges, while inferior airport-run lounges gained more traffic and revenue. That’s called corruption (the dishonest or illegal misuse of entrusted power or authority for private or personal gain).

Airports should welcome airline investment in premium passenger facilities. A Cathay Pacific lounge is not a problem to be solved. Quite the contrary, it is a competitive advantage for the airport. It raises the passenger experience and gives international travelers one less reason to dread the airport.

If NAIA wants to build world-class airport lounges, go right and head try to make them better than Cathay’s lounge. Do what Mumbai Airport has tried to do with its lounges, which are very nice. But do not eliminate a successful branded lounge just because the airport operator wants to capture more lounge revenue. And as always, follow the. money…

CONCLUSION

Cathay Pacific has permanently closed its Manila Terminal 3 lounge, apparently against its wishes, as NAIA moves forward with terminal redevelopment.

If this was simply about temporary construction logistics, that is one thing. But if the real goal is to force airlines into airport-operated lounges so NAIA can charge per passenger, that is a very disappointing move.

The Cathay Pacific Manila lounge was one of the few genuinely premium spaces at NAIA. Closing it makes the airport experience worse, not better. Manila’s airport may finally be undergoing the transformation it badly needs, but removing one of its best lounges sure seems like step backward.

image: Cathay Pacific