Naia is fifth worst airport in Asia – website survey

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES

Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) slipped in ranking this year to join Asia’s worst five, but four other Philippine airports emerged among the region’s best.

The “Guide to Sleeping in Airports” website released over the weekend the results of its latest survey of the best and the worst airports in the world.

In the guide’s 2016 Worst Asian Airports, Naia was ranked fifth, a worse showing than its eighth place on the same list last year.

“Major complaints include a bullet-planting scam, frequent power outages, lapses in air conditioning, uncomfortable (and insufficient) seating and complicated terminal transfers,” the survey report said, although it cited improvements in Naia facilities since 2011.

PH four among best 30

Listed among the 30 best airports in Asia were Iloilo International Airport, which placed 12th, rising from 21st in 2015; Mactan-Cebu International Airport and the Clark International Airport, ranked 14th and 15th, respectively, and Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao City, which placed 26th.

The best airports were rated by travelers based on their overall airport experience, including comfort, facilities, food, immigration or security, customer service and cleanliness.

Tashkent International Airport in Uzbekistan earned the worst in Asia title for its “multitude of checkpoints” as well as its chairs, described by survey respondents as being in “notoriously short supply.”

According to the report, “[t]he only saving grace” in Tashkent “is the airport’s lone service and facility: free Wi-Fi. Bring an electronic device and disappear into it. It’s your best bet at sanity.”

The report noted that most of the complaints about Asia’s worst 10 airports involved unclean toilets, unhelpful staff whose “focus is too often on collecting bribes or executing crafty scams,” as well as long, chaotic queues.

Worst in the world

Adjudged the worst airport in the world this year is King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Respondents said cleanliness at the airport was “a mythical concept.” They found immigration officers to be arrogant, rude and careless.

The airport also has no restaurants, shops and entertainment centers, they said.

The brainchild of Donna McSherry, the Guide to Sleeping in Airports started in 1996. It was previously titled the “Budget Traveler’s Guide to Sleeping in Airports,” and was initially made up of McSherry’s airport sleeping tips and reviews of the airports in Dublin, Frankfurt, and Geneva.

The website started to grow when other travelers began to contribute their reviews as well as useful and practical information about airports worldwide.