Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) is no longer among the top 20 worst airports in the world as well as in Asia, according to the latest survey by online travel site The Guide to Sleeping in Airports.
In the site’s 2017 Worst Airports in the World survey results, NAIA is no longer one of the top 20 worst airports in the world. In the 2016 survey, NAIA was ranked fifth after not being included in the top seven worst in 2015. In 2014, NAIA ranked fourth worst in the world after holding the World’s Worst Airport title steadily from 2011 to 2013.
Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur P. Tugade, in a statement, welcomed the improvement, but said that this is just the beginning. He added that DOTr must not be complacent as there are many things yet to be done to improve the country’s main gateway.
“Work, work, work lang. While it is good that we are not listed among the worst, let us work even harder to be included amongst the best,” Tugade said.
“We should be careful that we do not backslide,” he added.
For his part, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Ed Monreal said the result is only as good as that of the last race.
“The bigger challenge is to maintain or even surpass our achievement,” Monreal said.
Meanwhile, four Philippine airports again joined the list of the top 25 best airports in Asia for this year. These are Iloilo International Airport (12th), Mactan-Cebu International Airport (13th), Davao International Airport (17th), and Clark International Airport (22nd).
Among the reforms implemented at NAIA during the current administration are restricting general aviation to prioritize commercial flights and reduce flight delays; imposing the five-minute rule (where pilots who declare they are ready to take off must depart within the prescribed time or go to the back of the queue again) to reduce flight delays and instill discipline among airlines; constructing rapid exit taxiways to allow an aircraft to leave the runway at higher speed and increase flight movements; providing cleaner toilets, additional seats, free Wi-Fi, and a well wishers’ area. Regular taxis were also allowed to queue and pick up passengers at designated points in NAIA terminals to address the shortage of taxicabs servicing passengers.
DOTr further noted that there has been no single incident of a passenger missing a flight for supposedly possessing a bullet. Allegations that airport personnel were the ones placing the bullets in the baggage of passengers in order to extort money were one of the reasons cited for NAIA’s previous inclusion in the worst airports list.
