World's worst airport named

[Banjo]

Dilapidated, dishonest, rude: world's worst airport named

The Philippines' main Manila airport terminal has been named the world's worst for the second year in a row in a survey by an online travel website.

Officials on Friday brushed off the survey results, insisting conditions were being improved.

The Guide to Sleeping in Airports website said Manila's crowded Terminal 1 was ranked by travellers based on comfort, convenience, cleanliness and customer service to be the worst in the world.

Reviews for Manila's Terminal 1 posted on the site mentioned "dilapidated facilities", dishonest airport workers - particularly taxi drivers - long waiting times and rude officials.
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"These are old issues," Manila airport Terminal 1 manager Dante Basanta said, adding that the problems were already being addressed by the government.

He conceded that the Manila airport, with a capacity of about 6.5 million passengers annually, was overstretched, handling 8.1 million travellers last year.

The terminal at the Italian airport of Bergamo was named the second-worst, where it said there were "people loafing around without T-shirt or without shoes as if they were in their homes and no one gives a hoot".

Its third-worst was Calcutta, just edging out Islamabad, ahead of Paris Beauvais.

The best rated airports were Singapore Changi, Seoul Incheon, Amsterdam Schiphol, Hong Kong and Helsinki Vantaa.

New Zealand beat out Australia's airports in the ratings, with Auckland Airport named the best in our region. Brisbane was rated second best, followed by Melbourne Airport, Adelaide Airport and Wellington rounding out the top five.

Manila's Terminal 1, the oldest of its four passenger terminals, was built 32 years ago. The government has launched a 2.5-billion-peso ($60 million) renovation programme for the terminal.

It is also attempting to reduce congestion by moving at least three million passengers a year to a newer terminal.

AFP

Read more: www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/dilapidated-dishonest-rude-worlds-worst-airport-named-20131021-2vwsg.html#ixzz2iVfZzZxX

[Denis-NFA]

LOL Banjo

I think it's the most civilized airport terminal I have ever been in!

Out of Domestic Launceston, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Darwin, Perth, Cairns, Canberra and Coolangatta and International at Melbourne, Perth, Cairns, Darwin, Singapore, Honk Kong, Manila and Cebu it is Manila Terminal 1 that has an air conditioned smokers coffee lounge/bar within 3 minute walk of departure lounges!

And for this traveler to be able to access a clean smoking area and have a cup of coffee before a flight all within a quick stroll to board the flight is heaven!

[Banjo]

Do they still have a taxi "mafia"?
I hate that, at Chiang Rai they don't even allow taxis to pick up, you either use the "hire car" desk or walk a mile to the main gate and hope there's a meter taxi there.

[Denis-NFA]

At Manila Terminal 1 it mainly seems to be a conventional taxi rank.

I have only ever used the Terminal Shuttle bus service for transfers to or from Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 where Cebu Pacific Airlines operate from for a domestic flight down to Cebu.

Terminal 3 is newish and I was pleased to see in August that they now have a Coffee Shop where you can sit in air conditioned peace and have a smoke.

Cebu has taxi ranks also but the first time I got one from there I found out there is a 'hire car' system as well as metered taxis.

[latindancer]

"Dilapidated" is how I would describe the whole of the Philippines !

If anyone's interested, here is my Manila experience from 2009. I had not been there for 20 years.

I arrived in Manila and got a taxi to a backpackers' area I had stayed at 20 years before, which had been a vibrant place...THEN.
This time, I went to a hotel mentioned in Lonely Planet but it had been gutted by fire. Dragged my suitcase up the street to another place but it was quite expensive. Hauled myself back ( right out on the street, as footpath broken up and very dirty); couldn't find a cheapish backpackers' and a tout offered to take me to a cheap place around the corner. I paid him 50 pesos ( about $1.80 ) and he seemed very happy. All the way down the street, there were people trying to sell stuff by waving things in front of me, from phone chargers to sunglasses. They had desperate looks on their faces. Children were living and sleeping on the (very dirty) street, and begging ( hassling, actually ) the people for money and looking more woe-begone than they actually were to stimulate pity.

I hardly got any sleep because I discovered the hard way that there was a karaoke place next door that went till something like 3 am. Got up haggard and found there was no water for a shower. Wandered down the street to find a backpackers restaurant for breakfast, but there were none.....just fast-food places. Finally got a banana waffle with Nuttella, but couldn't taste the banana, so had to get two fresh ones to go with it.

Hauled myself off to a travel agent to buy a ticket to Cebu ( 45 minute flight ), and they quoted me 2800 pesos( about 90 bucks ).
I figured that I could get a cheaper one, so went directly to the airport and the Philippine Airlines office. ....they wanted 5,000 pesos. Went to Airport # 2, where I waited in the "Express" line at Cebu Pacific for an hour. Even the Filipino man behind me was tut-tutting that service was slow. And there were only about 15 people.....the line just wasn't moving, though there were 3 people serving !
Got quoted 4,500 pesos, but realized that I didn't have enough cash, so went to the ATM in the corner. Unfortunately it only accepted Visa cards, but not my "Maestro/Cirrus" ATM card.
The ticket-clerk directed me to the gas station across the busy highway ( no crossings...I had to skip across ) where she said there was an ATM. There was ! And it was a Maestro/Cirrus one ! But it was out of order.

Skipped back across the highway without being flattened, and she and another lady said I had no option but to take a taxi to a place they referred to as "MARKET-Market" or Global Village, 20 minutes in a taxi ( 5 bucks) down the road. Apparently there were a few banks there. Got there and saw 3 ATMs immediately, two of which had Maestro/Cirrus.....but you guessed it....both out of order. Luckily there was one inside which actually worked.....

Had to wait 30 minutes in a line (unusual) for a taxi back from "Market-Market", arriving after the time she said she'd hold my ticket till....so had to pay 5,300 pesos ( about $160, for a 45 minute flight ).......almost double the original figure I'd been given. While I was at the counter, an American guy came and told the girl that he'd clearly requested a 10 o'clock flight, whereas he'd been given a 6am one.....which didn't match up with his ongoing flight.

On first impressions the clerk was a cute little thing, with large spangly green pieces stuck on to her teeth between her braces......quite well done actually, and certainly looked more fashionable than plain braces. She stared at the computer screen with a really quite bovine and ever so slightly cross-eyed ( with mouth open ) expression for a while, as if it was the computer's fault, then disappeared for about 10 minutes, while her friend fiddled with my booking...........

Finally I got the ticket, went to check in, and was told that my bag was too heavy.
My weight allowance from Qantas for an international flight had been 25 kilos, and I only had 19.
But Cebu Pacific allowed only 15 on domestic flights. Had to rearrange stuff between my cabin bag and suitcase.....right there on the floor. Argh !

Whilst in Cebu, I got a really dilapidated old taxi and had to give the driver directions which I had memorized from looking at a map that morning. When I finally showed him the map and explained why we needed to take the second turn left, rather than the first, he looked astounded and exclaimed laughingly : "Ah...._MAP"_...ha HA.....as if he had never seen one of Cebu City before.
They're lovely people, but boy are they poor.

Can't say I ever encountered anyone rude, but I suspect the airport officials are reacting to previous travelers who have been angered and utterly frustrated by all the obstacles and how everything is so run-down or broken.
I found it like this in Thailand : the only rude people I met were those who regularly dealt with many foreigners.

[Banjo]

Love it LD... ending up paying double the first offered price is an experience I thought only Banjo could manage.

My worst experiences at Ninoy Aquino airport usually involved the line up outside the terminal to go through security just to get in. (An hour on a good day)
Another time the army wouldn't let me on the plane at Zamboanga City because I was being a smart arse with 2 passports, the one with the entry stamp in it was at the Vietnamese embassy getting a visa and I was using my second (dual nationality)as ID to travel around the country with.

I loved the Philippines, sure there were parts that I hated, the poverty, the crime, the corruption... but I had some fantastic experiences there and saw some truly beautiful places.

[ding]

I don't get on the DSPoverseas board very often, but sometimes, when I just need to be reminded there is some point to life, I come here and spend a few hours laughing. That description by latindancer was so typical of everything I'd been told to expect. First time there I was expecting so many dramas.

In my case I was lucky from my first trip. My girlfriend is 5' 8" and somehow I always seem to find her in a crowd. I walked out of the terminal looked across the road and while I was looking for her, suddenly realised that tall person in the distance sort of looked familiar.

My transit through customs on arrival and departures has been smooth and quick. I hate the lack of seats in the areas where you desperately feel like sitting down for a while to wait for things. Maybe next trip when I change from Jetstar to PAL, the queues might be longer and the time at the terminal more exciting.