Airport officials promise good toilets in 2 months

MANILA, Philippines—Stung by criticism, officials at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport have promised that all toilets in the old terminal building will be clean and have running water, toilet paper and soap within two to three months.

Manila International Airport Authority general manager Jose Angel Honrado said the agency has imposed that deadline upon itself to renovate all toilets in the NAIA terminal, which recently was listed among the world’s worst airports by a travel Web site.
“What we can promise to our traveling public is that within two to three months all our toilets will be fully equipped with toilet paper and soap,” Honrado said in an interview last week.

He said MIAA has been renovating lavatories in Terminal 1, and has finished work on seven to eight sets of male and female rest rooms out of 17.

On the other hand, the lavatories in Terminal 2 and 3, being in good condition, have no need of renovation, Honrado said.

The Web site, “The Guide to Sleeping in Airports,” ranked the Manila airports, particularly the NAIA Terminal 1, the fifth worst in the world and No. 1 in Asia for 2010, behind two French airports, including the Paris Charles De Gaulle, and the Los Angeles and Moscow airports.

Some of the complaints raised about the NAIA terminal involved its “filthy toilets,” as well as not enough seats and officials asking for bribes.

Reacting to the NAIA’s ranking, Honrado said he respected the opinion of the reviewers but invited them to visit the terminal again and see the improvements.

He also noted that the website was geared toward budget travelers who slept in airports to save on lodging. Honrado said Terminal 1 could not accommodate airport sleepers, given the space limitations.