Airports, again!

Once again, our wonderful airports all over the country have made the news. Bad news. Restroom facilities more fit for animals than humans, X-ray machines that don’t work at all, short runways and I’m sure a lot more to point out and complain about, such as the falling concrete slabs and facades of NAIA Terminal 1 that pose a danger to both passengers and aircraft. Everyone is in agreement that airports have to look their best, since these are the very first structures seen by tourists both foreign and local. It offers a very important first impression as to what the country, or the different provinces are like.

What I have been asking all along is where do ALL the terminal fees collected in ALL our airports go? For as long as I can remember, terminal fees have been collected from all departing passengers in all airports, large or small. So if our airports are in disrepair, old, decrepit, falling apart, dirty, even downright eyesores, then is it safe to assume that ALL the terminal fees collected throughout the decades went somewhere else? We’re talking billions of pesos collected, and still collecting. If ever some funds made it to the upkeep and maintenance of these terminals, I’m sure it was very little. 

I’ll agree that NAIA Terminal 1 is old and in need of a full refurbishing and remodeling, if not totally torn down and building a new one. But where do we put all the passengers and aircraft displaced by such an endeavor? Some are saying that the international airport should be transferred to Clark in Angeles, Pampanga, which is a good hour or so away from Metro Manila. That’s all well and good, if we had an efficient transport system to ferry passenger to and from Clark. That was the purpose of the Northrail project, which by all means and purposes, in limbo, thanks to previous administrations. I even remember one of the state of the nation addresses of the previous president where she was highlighting several airports that were built or refurbished under her term. What happened to them now?

I believe that how these terminal fees were liquidated must be made public knowledge, or at least the subject of a Senate inquiry. Passengers have no choice but to cough out hundreds of pesos for terminal fees. And yet they have to fetch water from a basin or drum just to flush a toilet, or even wash hands? Are they actually expecting a foreign tourist to do that? Unacceptable.

Every year, our international airport makes a list of some sort. A bad list. A worst list. If we are ever going to promote this country and improve tourism, we have to have a nice airport. No, a wonderful, clean airport with working facilities. In the remaining three years of the Aquino administration, I hope they are able to fix all that needs fixing, and replace all personnel and staff who have to be replaced. Because not only do we get complaints about facilities, we also get complaints about some personnel. Not everyone returns items left by departing passengers. And remember, we all paid for these in the first place!