Sleeping in NAIA 1

Voted the world’s worst airport in the past years by the travel website sleepinginairports.com, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 is addressing its inadequacies.

Last year 14,600 passengers polled by the website rated airports in terms of “the four Cs” related to sleeping (or resting) and overall experience while waiting for flights: customer service; cleanliness; comfort, such as the availability of “quiet zones” and armrest-free seats for stretching out; and convenience, which includes food around the clock and showers.

Singapore’s Changi International was voted the best followed by Seoul Incheon and then Amsterdam Schiphol.

Voted the worst were the NAIA followed by Italy’s Bergamo Orio al Serio, India’s Kolkata airport, Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto International in Islamabad and Paris’ Beauvais.

NAIA 1 now has not only armrest-free seating including along the hallways leading to the boarding gates, but also beds in private rooms.

For P840 or $19.40, travelers with a long layover can rent a room for 24 hours. The bedrooms on the fourth floor can be reached through a scenic elevator (not much of a scenery there though) from the third floor departure area beside a Japanese spa. (Why Japanese when we have excellent local spas?)

The bedrooms, each with private toilet and bath plus basic amenities, are air-conditioned and currently the coldest part of the NAIA 1.

Doha’s Hamad International Airport, where I transited on my way to Milan and then back to Manila, has “quiet rooms” – free common rooms with long reclined seats that allow travelers to stretch out while resting. Shower rooms and a small airport hotel are still under construction.

At NAIA 1, cooling fans and giant industrial fans placed at several spots around the terminal eased the discomfort from the inadequate air conditioning when I flew to Italy the other weekend. But upon my return, the late afternoon heat along the arrival hallway was an unpleasant welcome to Manila.

Flying out wasn’t too bad, partly thanks to the efficiency of airlines, whose online services allowed me to breeze through check-in. I waited in line for about two minutes to pay the terminal fee, and it took about 10 minutes to wait in line and less then a minute at the counter to clear immigration.

The departure form has been simplified, although in Italy no arrival or departure cards are required; a Schengen visa is enough.

Beyond the NAIA security check, passengers were given free bottled water courtesy of Duty Free Philippines. It would be better if drinking fountains could be installed, as in Doha, but the safety of water from the tap in Metro Manila is not guaranteed.

The NAIA 1 toilets are much cleaner although water pressure is weak. There’s a new footbath for Muslims.

All the improvements are appreciated, but the NAIA 1, the country’s premier airport terminal, is simply too small for 21st century air traffic. It was SRO at the departure lounge for my flight. Not even the best airlines can do much about that problem.

Many other countries are investing heavily in airport development. Tiny Qatar’s new airport is massive, with children’s playgrounds, TV rooms, free wi-fi, computers with free Internet access, and even an animatronic, roaring Tyrannosaurus Rex beside a toy store. Milan’s Malpensa Airport, my point of entry in Italy, is large enough but is being further improved for the World Expo next year.

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Another thing we lack is a railway system that travelers can use to reach different points of Luzon from the airport. If our officials could just get their greedy little hands off every train project that reaches their desk, I might yet see an efficient railway service in Metro Manila and Luzon within my lifetime.

From Milan’s Malpensa you can take an express train to the city center. Or a bus, for 10 euros, for a one-hour drive to the central station in downtown Milan, where I took a high-speed train to Turin. The one-hour train ride, which was booked and paid for online in Manila, was smoother than a plane ride. The trains have lavatories similar to those on planes, and the 20-euro fare comes with coffee and a snack.

The train ride provides visitors a chance for sightseeing – something that our tourism officials should want here. Summer is starting in Italy. At times during my stay it was warmer in Turin than in Manila, with the sun still high in the sky at 7:30 p.m. On the ride to Turin I enjoyed the sight of lush rice and corn fields. There were quaint crumbling barns and homes had backyard gardens tended on a Sunday mainly by men. Maybe vegetable gardening is a guy thing in Italy.

It was easy to get around in Turin with its efficient subway system, at 1.50 euros minimum fare per ride. I also took the hop-on, hop-off, double-deck sightseeing tour bus – ubiquitous over much of Europe and in several American cities. We were advised to keep our tickets for a 10 percent discount when booking sightseeing bus tours in other countries.

One of our local tourism industry players had wanted to bring in double-deck tour buses to the Philippines, but gave up after running into a mountain of red tape.

As on the train and bus rides from Milan, the tour bus schedules in Turin were strictly followed.

The same attention to punctuality was evident in Doha. But Qatari punctuality got tossed out the window as our plane prepared to land in Manila. The usual traffic on the lone tarmac of NAIA kept our plane circling for some time.

When we finally landed, the pilot apologized for the 15-minute delay and any inconvenience it might have caused. I overheard some Filipinos remarking, “Just 15 minutes late and they’re apologizing!”

Some expats from advanced economies have told me, as they observed a Pinoy propensity for tardiness, that for them, five minutes is a long time to wait.

If we want to become world-class, we’ll have to start being unhappy with a 15-minute delay in anything.

We’re being touted as Asia’s emerging tiger. We should fit the role, starting with our principal gateway and transportation infrastructure. And toss in an attitude change.