INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) again topped the list of the 10 worst airports in the world for “its rundown facilities, impolite personnel and staff, and long wait times,” according to a US website.
The country’s main international gateway has been earning the dubious tag since 2011. Airport officials dismissed the latest article as “rehashed.”
In “10 of the Worst Airports in the World” on US website wallstcheatsheet.com, the Naia topped the list over such airports as Charles de Gaulle in Paris, Los Angeles International and Bergamo Orio al Serio in Italy.
Citing the American news cable channel CNBC, the article said the Manila airport struggled to cram 32 million travelers into a facility built to handle way too few passengers.
“Travelers complained about the airport’s rundown facilities, impolite staff and officials, and long wait times,” writer Kirsten Klahn said.
“That shouldn’t come as a shock, though, considering it only has a capacity for six million passengers,” Klahn said.
Klahn made mention of the travel blog, “The Guide to Sleeping in Airports” (www.sleepinginairports.net), which ranked the Naia in 2011 and 2013 as the worst according to travelers based on comfort, conveniences, cleanliness and customer service.
But the latest article noted the country’s plan to build a new airport, which it hoped would be “up and running in five years.”
Officials of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), the government agency that runs the four Naia terminals, were unaffected by the online article.
“We won’t dignify that article by giving further comment. Like we said before, these are old and rehashed,” said Connie Bungag, MIAA spokesperson, in a phone interview.
Bungag said the MIAA would not be sidetracked by “mere opinions” but would continue to work and improve services at the Naia as it is mandated to do.
The Cheat Sheet, according to its website, is one of the largest media companies in the United States with over 19,000,000 visitors and 110,000,000 page views per month.
It said it was named the No. 1 Social Media Influencer on Wall Street according to Forbes, was a finalist in the Forbes List of America’s Most Promising Companies in 2011, and was a top financial outlet according to The Wall Street Journal.
Other airports that made the dubious list were New York’s La Guardia, Switzerland’s Zurich International, Chad’s N’Djamena International Airport, Russia’s Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport, the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Arkansas, USA, and India’s Calcutta Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport.
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