蜜桃工作室

MANILA, Philippines鈥擭inoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) 1 has retained its dubious distinction鈥攊t is the world鈥檚 worst air terminal, according to a blogger.

In rating Naia 1 the world鈥檚 worst this year, travel blog 鈥淭he Guide to Sleeping in Airports鈥� (www.sleepinginairports.net) bestowed the 30-year-old airport the same notoriety it earned in 2011.

The website, an online community for travelers looking to cut costs by catching some sleep in airports instead of booking hotel rooms, said users voted this year鈥檚 10 worst airports based on 鈥渃omfort, amenities and overall experience.鈥�

鈥淲hen selecting an airport to declare as the 鈥榳orst,鈥� travelers were asked to consider the four Cs: comfort, conveniences, cleanliness and customer service,鈥� the site said in releasing the list on Tuesday.

It said the world鈥檚 airports were rated based on comfort and availability of seats for travelers experiencing delays or layovers, poor signage and availability of food and transportation services, and the quality of staff services, including 鈥渋mmigration officers who prefer to play Angry Birds than process travelers鈥� documents.鈥�

Naia 1 is the only Southeast Asian airport on this year鈥檚 list.

It is joined on the 鈥渘ot list鈥� (in this order) by the Bergamo airport in Italy, the Calcutta airport in India, the Islamabad airport in Pakistan, the Paris Beauvais airport in France, the Chennai airport in India, the Frankfurt-Hahn airport in Germany, the Mumbai airport in India, the Fiumicino-Leonardo da Vinci airport in Rome, Italy, and LAX in Los Angeles, California.

The travel blog said this year鈥檚 results were 鈥渂ased entirely on user votes in our site polls and surveys鈥� from September 2012 to August 2013.

Singapore鈥檚 Changi airport was voted this year鈥檚 best.

Naia 1 was also rated as the worst airport in Asia in 2012.

The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), which runs the airports, begged off comment, saying all issues raised by travelers鈥攊ncluding 鈥渟tinky toilets,鈥� in particular鈥攈ad been addressed.

The Naia 1 terminal manager, Dante Basanta, said the implementation of the terminal鈥檚 P2.5-billion rehabilitation plan announced by the Department of Transportation and Communications would begin this December.

The yearlong work includes 鈥渟tructural retrofitting and architectural upgrading鈥� of the terminal.

The air terminal was built for 6 million annual passengers following expansion in the 1990s. It has, however, exceeded its capacity, hosting 8 million travelers in 2012.

Reviewer Angrycat stayed true to its username in a review posted on the website in December 2012.

While the reviewer found the Naia 1 airport staff courteous, Angrycat thought 鈥渆verything else sucked.鈥� The traveler had just returned from a trip to Hong Kong and had to line up for 45 minutes at the immigration counter.

鈥淭he terminal was chaos upon arriving at the baggage area,鈥� the review said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a band performing in the middle of the hall which was really noisy and inappropriate.

鈥淚 was trying to look for my mother and grandmother and with the band performing so loudly, it not only added to the stress, it made it hard for me to make a phone call with all the noise.鈥�

A traveler that signed in by the name worldtraveller328 complained about all the excessive charges that airport staff and one taxi driver demanded.

In a review posted on Sept. 6, the traveler even cited an encounter with a pilot who said 鈥渉e was sorry for the corrupted officials in Naia and said that the 鈥榤anagement鈥� would fix them.鈥�

鈥淧hilippines, a great country with friendly natives and beautiful beaches. That was what I thought before I arrived in Naia,鈥� said the reviewer, who cited being charged P3,000 by a porter and P4,000 by a cabbie.

It was not all bad, however, as the airport still received some praise.

A review by user enzym posted in July found the airport clean and the ground staff kind. He had arrived in Manila late at night and decided to pass the time inside the terminal as 鈥済etting to the city is a bit complicated late at night.鈥�

The traveler also enjoyed the free Wi-Fi.

鈥淭he presence of the guard made me feel safe enough to even leave my stuff there when I went to the toilet (which was very clean, many staff cleaning it regularly),鈥� the post said.

鈥淕reat thing was the cheap, many choices. The airport is calm at night and gets busy around 5 a.m. But even after that time, sleepers are tolerated and not interrupted,鈥� the post read.

While not designed to accommodate travelers who stay overnight, Naia offers a dayroom for sleeping for a fee of $18 (P775) for 24 hours for those who decide to spend a day at the terminal to wait for their flight or for arriving passengers who would like to pass the time before leaving the airport.

The MIAA said it had been making efforts to refurbish the old terminal even before 2011, the first time Naia was rated the worst airport in the same travel blog.

In particular, repairs include fixing鈥攁nd, at times, completely replacing鈥攖oilet facilities and implementing improvements in passenger areas.

Originally posted at 08:44 pm |Thursday, October 17, 2013