Just a day after the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 (Naia 1) started its P1.16-billion renovation on Monday, USA Today came out with another article saying that the country’s premier airport is the “second worst airport” in the world.
The Naia 1 renovation involves a face-lift of the 30-year-old terminal and the construction of a rapid-exit taxiway. The project is expected to be finished in 79 days, while the whole construction scheme is scheduled to be online in 18 months.
Workers have started dismantling the escalators at the middle of the arrival area to create an unimpeded flow of newly arrived passengers, in expectation of the 10 million passengers the country’s tourism officials project would be arriving in 2016.
The article described Naia 1 as “very dated with little in the way of appealing dining or shopping options.”
Written by online editor Jason Clampet of Frommers.com, the travel article brings information for tourists on how to get cheap airfares, bargain-rate cruises, discounted hotel rooms, budget car rentals and money-saving advice.
“There is also a small domestic terminal. International-arrival formalities are usually handled fairly quickly
even if the queue for immigration can appear to be a bit of a free-for-all.”
Clampet said that as in most Filipino airports, you may be asked to show your boarding pass or other ID to prove that the bags you take from the airport are in fact your own.
“When returning to the airport on your departure out of the country, be aware that security guards will want to see a copy of your ticket [or e-ticket printout] before allowing you into the terminal.”
In October last year, travel web site sleeping in airport.com ranked Naia 1 as world’s worst airport, based on poll votes and user reviews for reasons such as safety concerns, lack of comfortable seating, rude staff, hostile security, poor facilities, few services to pass the time, bribery and being kicked out or other hassles of being in the airport.
And in November 2011, CNNGo.com, rated Naia as 5th world’s worst airports in terms of passengers’ observation on smelliest toilets, the longest queues, the rudest staff and dysfunctional airport terminal facilities.
For many travelers, an airport terminal provides the first impression — and the final word — about a destination. It’s also a place where travelers spend much time, particularly waiting for departing or connecting flights.
The world’s 10 best and worst airport terminals, as ranked by Frommers.com in terms of rating the four C’s: comfort, conveniences, cleanliness and customer service in airports are:
Best: Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) Hajj Terminal; Leifur Eriksson Air Terminal, Keflavik, Iceland; Seoul (South Korea) Incheon Airport; Wellington (New Zealand) “Rock” Terminal; New York JFK Airport Terminal 5; Singapore Changi International Airport Terminal 3; Marrakech (Morocco) Menara Airport Terminal 1; Madrid (Spain) Barajas Terminal 4; Carrasco International Airport, Montevideo, Uruguay; and Bilbao (Spain) Airport Main Terminal.
Worst: New York JFK Airport Terminal 3; Manila (Philippines) Airport Terminal 1; Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport Terminal B/C; Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (Nairobi, Kenya); Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, Terminal 3; Amman (Jordan) Queen Alia Airport; New York LaGuardia Airport Terminal 5; Terminal B at Newark Liberty International Airport; Paris’ Beauvais Airport; and Chicago Midway Airport.
IN PHOTO -- NAIA 1 FACE LIFT BEGINS, Workers have started fencing off the escalators at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 (Naia 1), which are scheduled for removal so that the whole arrival area would be unimpeded by their presence. The second fl oor where the other ends of the escalators are located would be one big gathering place once the escalators are removed. -- RECTO MERCENE
