NAIA Improves Ranking Slightly, No Longer “World’s Worst Airport”
(Photo from: Wikipedia)
Many local news sites reported on the slight improvement in ranking of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on the list of the world’s worst airports. Based from the survey compiled by the review website “The Guide to Sleeping in Airports“, NAIA slightly improved going from #1 to #4. The voting period covered for this was from September 2013 to August 2014. NAIA has been holding the #1 for the past three straight years.Â
Common complaints of travelers in NAIA include:
- Overcrowding
- Long queues
- Limited seats
- Unfriendly immigration/customs officers
- Smelly toilets
In April, NAIA became the “biggest public sauna in Asia” when its air-conditioning system got broken. Reportedly, the system has been fixed in the later months. The gravity of the complaints about NAIA has placed it on top of the list of the world’s worst airports for a long time. One of the survey respondents even called it the “laggard of Asia”.
On the other hand, the review site noted that the start of the long-awaited rehabilitation of NAIA contributed greatly on this improvement in ranking. These include:
- Newly refurbished day rooms were re-opened
- Some international airlines were finally moved to Terminal 3 to help lessen the congestion in Terminal 1
- Terminal tax was included on international tickets to eliminate one lengthy payment queue
Islamabad Benazir Bhutto International Airport (ISB) in Pakistan dethroned NAIA on the top of the list of world’s worst airports. The review website compared this airport to a central prison due to “crowds (and absence of crowd control), aggressive-yet-inconsistent security checks, and the overall lack of cleanliness and technology”.
Travelers out there, what do you think?Â
Has NAIA really improved?
Share with us your thoughts.
NAIA Improves Ranking Slightly, No Longer “World’s Worst Airport”
