EDITORIAL - The world's worst

In delivering the basic services required of an airport, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport works. Its air traffic controllers don’t fall asleep on the job. In the past year, even the restrooms have improved, and now have a steady supply of running water and toilet paper.

But the basic problem remains: there aren’t enough restrooms, and the airport has failed to meet the requirements of growing air traffic since the NAIA, at the time called the Manila International Airport, started operating the current Terminal 1 for international flights in 1981.

The NAIA has just received the dubious distinction of being voted the world’s worst airport, by users of the online budget travel guide www.sleepinginairports.net. Last year when the NAIA was voted among the worst three in the world in the same online survey, some government officials huffed that airports are not for sleeping anyway. It betrayed their ignorance of the nature of air travel in the age of globalization.

This time transport officials said the NAIA’s latest worst ranking served as a challenge to implement more improvements – something that the country has failed to do since the NAIA 1 was built. Apparently believing that if it ain’t broke, there’s no need to fix it, airport officials also saw no need to improve.

These days the NAIA suffers in comparison with many other airports around the world. The comparison looks worse in Asia, home to several of the world’s top-rated airports such as those in South Korea and Singapore. Countries in the region are not satisfied with delivering basic airport services; they are competing to become the top regional hub, improving services and providing all the amenities that can ease the discomfort of air travel.

These countries are fully aware that these factors can spell the difference when someone picks a destination for tourism, business conference, or simply for transit. The state of the NAIA reflects the state of the nation: things are working, but it’s not enough, and others are doing much better.