Manila airport terminal ranked ‘world’s worst’ Sat, 19 Oct 2013 07:25:06 AST Saudi Gazette | Agencies_MANILA 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 travelers 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. “These are old issues,” Manila airport Terminal 1 manager Dante Basanta told AFP, 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 travelers last year. The terminal at the Italian airport of Bergamo was named the second-worst, where the survey 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. The website’s ratings are explained as follows: “When selecting an airport to declare as the ‘worst’, travelers were asked to consider the four Cs: comfort, conveniences, cleanliness and customer service. “Some of these factors may include: Comfort: Metallic seating, armrests, crowded terminals and limited seats make for an unpopular airport for long delays or layovers; Conveniences: Bad signage in the terminals, difficult transfers, a lack of 24-hour food, and nothing to do in transit; Cleanliness: dirty floors, bathrooms and food courts; Customer Service: unfriendly staff, airport scams, anti-airport sleeper policies, immigration officers who prefer to play Angry Birds than process travelers.” 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 ($58 million) renovation program for the terminal. It is also attempting to reduce congestion by moving at least three million passengers a year to a newer terminal. Sent from my iPhone
Posted on: Sat, 19 Oct 2013 11:37:04 +0000
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