National embarrassment

Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Manila Standard Today

EMBARRASSMENT does not begin to capture the sentiment that many Filipinos feel at the dismal ranking—fifth worst in the world—that the Ninoy Aquino International Airport received from an online travel guide. The shame that such notoriety brings is made more painful by the realization that the assessment is well deserved. The truth hurts.

How many Filipinos who have traveled through the modern airports of our neighbors—Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and Malaysia—have not felt a twinge of envy when they compare these towering glass and steel structures with their own port of origin, a squat 28-year-old terminal with concrete walls, tacky vinyl tiles and restrooms that are never quite clean enough?

Unfortunately, the problem goes beyond the physical facilities. Services, too, are poor, as travelers must put up with long queues, especially at Immigration. Free Internet service, a convenience that many seasoned travelers have come to expect from a modern airport, remains a vague promise.

In more cosmopolitan airports, travelers can while away the time before flights at posh shops that they would typically find in an upscale mall. The stalls at Terminal 1, on the other hand, feel like they were transported from a flea market from Tutuban Mall in the Divisoria district.

That all this is allowed to continue at an airport named in honor of the martyred father of the current President must be an extra source of embarrassment for the current administration.

Our collective embarrassment, however, quickly turns to chagrin when we consider how little we get in return for the P750 terminal fee that we must pay every time we fly out through NAIA.

Given the sad state of affairs, we welcomed the Tourism Department’s promise of a major facelift at all three NAIA international terminals before the year ends.

Improvements in the physical facilities include replacing the floors and ceiling, presumably to throw off the Third-World aura of Terminal 1; replacing some walls with glass to create the illusion of more space; and building more presentable restrooms, the department says.

There are also plans to convert the parking lot outside the terminal into a park for people waiting for arrivals.

Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim is absolutely correct when he says that the airport is the first and last impression that visitors have of the country, and we look forward to the improvements that he has promised.

Given this administration’s predilection for charging the public for services that the government ought to be providing free, however, we would oppose any move to increase the terminal fee to cover the costs. After all, Filipino travelers have yet to get back the benefits commensurate to what they have already paid all these years.