Travel guide ranks NAIA-1 2nd worst terminal worldwide

MANILA, Philippines - The Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 has once again been ranked as one of the worst airport terminals in the world.

In a USA Today article, Frommers.com editor Jason Clampet described NAIA as “very dated with little in the way of appealing dining or shopping options.”                

Clampet also said that most airports in the Philippines would ask travelers to show boarding pass or other ID to prove ownership of their baggage.

“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.

Frommers.com ranks the world’s 10 best and worst airport terminals in terms of “four C’s” – comfort, conveniences, cleanliness and customer service.

The best airport terminals in the world include Jeddah Hajj Terminal (Saudi Arabia); Leifur Eriksson Air Terminal, Keflavik, Iceland; Seoul Incheon Airport (South Korea); Wellington “Rock” Terminal (New Zealand); New York JFK Airport Terminal 5; Singapore Changi International Airport Terminal 3; Marrakech Menara Airport Terminal 1 (Morocco); Madrid Barajas Terminal 4 (Spain); Carrasco International Airport, Montevideo, Uruguay; and Bilbao Airport Main Terminal (Spain).

The worst airport terminals in the world are New York JFK Airport Terminal 3; Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 (Manila, Philippines); Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport Terminal B/C (Russia); Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (Nairobi, Kenya); Charles de Gaulle Airport Terminal 3 (Paris); Amman Queen Alia Airport (Jordan); New York LaGuardia Airport Terminal 5; Terminal B at Newark Liberty International Airport (New Jersey); Beauvais Airport (Paris); and Chicago Midway Airport.

In October last year, travel website sleepinginairports.com ranked NAIA 1 as the world’s worst airport based on poll votes and user reviews due to 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.

CNNGo.com also rated NAIA back in November as the world’s 5th worst airport in terms of the passengers’ assessment of smelliest toilets, longest queues, rudest staff and dysfunctional airport terminal facilities.

Meanwhile, the recent ranking prompted officials to speed up its renovation. “Just wait until it’s finished,” NAIA Terminal 1 manager Dante Basanta said.       

According to Basanta, the government allocated some P1.16 billion for the makeover of NAIA 1.

The renovation includes the facelift of the 30-year-old terminal and the construction of a rapid exit taxiway.