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Philippine Airlines invested P250 million to acquire an advanced x-ray system to speed up scanning of air cargo
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PAL is the first airline in the Philippines with a Rapiscan Eagle A25, which will be operational next year in the carrier’s new cargo terminal along Andrews Avenue in Pasay City
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The new x-ray will reduce scanning time from the current 75-90 minutes to around 15-30 minutes, making scanning more efficient
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The new equipment comes as PAL eyes higher cargo volumes this year, especially with the continued growth of e-commerce
Philippine Airlines (PAL) has invested P250 million to acquire an advanced x-ray system to speed up the scanning of air cargo.
PAL is the first airline in the Philippines with a Rapiscan Eagle A25, PAL vice president for Cargo Business Jason Siy told PortCalls at the sidelines of the recent Philippines Air Cargo Day 2025. The Philippines Air Cargo Day is a joint undertaking between the International Air Transport Association, Philippine Multimodal Transport and Logistics Association, Inc and PortCalls.
The Eagle A25 is an advanced X-ray system for scanning pallets and unit load devices (ULDs) that produces high-quality images . It will help detect threats and contraband and enables fast loading and unloading of containers and pallets.
Siy said that with the new x-ray, PAL staff will no longer have to break down contents of each ULD as the ULD fits the scanner.
Scanning time will be cut from 75-90 minutes to 15-30 minutes. The x-ray will also reduce the minimum connecting time from one day to half a day, addressing challenges on screening of cargoes, particularly those for transit, the PAL official said.
The new equipment comes as PAL eyes higher cargo volumes this year, especially with the continued growth of e-commerce.
The Eagle A25 will be operational next year in PAL’s new cargo terminal along Andrews Avenue in Pasay City.
READ: PAL rebrands cargo business
PAL relocated its cargo terminal in September 2024 in line with plans of Ninoy Aquino International Airport operator, New NAIA Infra Corp., to convert the old international cargo terminal into a new passenger terminal building.
In an earlier regulatory disclosure, PAL said cargo revenues increased 3.7% to P6.71 billion in the first nine months of 2025, primarily due to higher cargo volumes handled during the period.
READ: PAL books 62% higher income in Q3 2025
PAL is also eyeing more cargo capacity with the addition of more aircraft and routes in the coming years.
By the end of this year or early next year, PAL expects to take delivery of its first Airbus A350-1000, the first of its nine A350-1000 aircraft orders. The other eight will be delivered from 2026 to 2028. PAL also has confirmed orders of 13 Airbus A321-NEOs, coming in by the fourth quarter of 2026 through 2029.
Further, PAL’s Port-to-Door service now includes the use of four-wheeled vehicles that can carry more than 20 kilograms (kg) of cargo for Manila and Cebu. This is in addition to the current two-wheeled vehicles, accommodating cargo weighing not more than 20 kg.
The airport-to-doorstep delivery service available in major cities, including Metro Manila, Iloilo, Bacolod, Cebu, Cagayan, and Davao. Siy earlier said the service started as clients, particularly those located farther from the airport, had asked for ways to have their cargo delivered to them instead of picking up from the cargo terminal.
PAL has tapped last-mile delivery service providers Grab and Lalamove for the service, and is also currently talking to several more courier partners, Siy said. – Roumina Pablo
