The Department of Transportation has released a statement following a study released by American luggage app Bounce which claimed that the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) is the world’s worst airport for business class travelers.
According to the app’s Business Class Index, NAIA earned a business class score of 0.88 out of 10 and ranked last out of 38 busiest airports all around the world.
“The main gateway to the Philippines, Manila’s airport was the worst scoring for three different categories: its number of destinations, on-time performance, and rating from Skytrax,” said the website. NAIA currently serves 101 destinations, a Skytrax rating of 3 out of 5, has 14 lounges, and has 59.6% on-time flights annually.
The DOTr went on to question the basis of the study and addressed the listed reasons why NAIA was ranked the worst.
“NAIA is a destination airport and not a hub airport, which is why there are not much business class lounges and onward destinations,” the statement read. “Airlines primarily determine their need to put up business class lounges for their customers. Business class lounges abound in hub airports, which NAIA is not.”
DOTr also brought up how NAIA ranked among Skytrax’s top 10 World’s Most Improved Airports based on the 2018 World Airport Awards and has since made improvements in its facilities to improve passenger experience.
“While the ‘study’ shows unfavorable rating and unsubstantiated claims about NAIA, it cannot be denied that significant improvements have been carried out in the country’s main gateway in the past six years under the Duterte administration,” the statement continued.
“[The] DOTr and Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) will continue to improve the airport facilities and its services to ensure a safe, reliable, convenient, and comfortable travel experience to the air riding public. Rest assured that the review shall serve as an inspiration for us to do more and better. Despite challenges, setbacks, and criticisms, it is undeniable that the country’s main gateway – the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) – has come a long way from where it was before.”
The DOTr also pointed out that Bounce is a luggage storage business that operates in the United States and Asia, but has no operations in the Philippines.
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