Manila Airport

✅ Trip Verified | I used to always use terminal 3 for arrivals and departures from the Philippines, but this time I decided to use a different airline which uses terminal 1. First thoughts on arriving at the airport was the lighting, it was dim, and the hallways were empty, upon getting to immigration there were only a couple of counters and a long queue. There is also the noticeable amount of construction nearby. Going into the arrivals area you have to cross the street, down the stairs and go to the very noisy and hot arrivals area. People were everywhere shouting, car horns were blaring and just an overall lack of discipline, then again this wasn't the fault of the airport. Overall arrival in terminal 1 was okay. Now on to the departures, apart from families or friends not being able to enter with you to the check in area you were forced to say your goodbyes to the already crowded sidewalk, as the security guards were motioning you away, then they demanded to see your ticket and boarding pass by the door. A total hassle and created an unnecessary queue then a first security check in which you have to get your bags x-rayed etc, while the guard that was operating the x-ray was having a conversation with her colleague not even paying attention. Then to checking in, evidently for an older airport there isn't enough check-in counters to facilitate the amount of passengers and airlines operating in the airport. Queues were criss crossing, and before you check in an hour has already passed, not to mention the need to get a travel tax exemption at another counter. After all this the usual immigration with long queues and not enough counters/staff. Next thing you know the 2nd hour has already passed. After immigration you see some duty free shops. Tiny in selection for a dimly lit hallway. Not enough food choices or places to sit. I decided to walk to my gate to wait for boarding to start, to my surprise another security check where I was told I was only allowed to sit in the area around my gate and not anywhere else (unnecessary but okay). It would've been fine but with the lack of plugs and charging ports so you better hope your gadgets have juice in them still after the probably 3 hours you endured to get to the end. Oh and the Wi-Fi is only limited to 2 hours, so by the time you get to the gate, it's gone all in all the best reward in Terminal 1 is knowing that you're to somewhere better than this.

❎ Not Verified | While Manila Terminal 1 is still not yet Singapore or Dubai, there has been a noticeable improvement in the facilities, cleanliness and A/C. I have seen numerous much worse airports, and even many airports in the US are not much better. PS. Of course Terminal 3 is still much better.

✅ Trip Verified | This is a review of Manila Terminal 2, which is the hub of Philippine Airlines. Whilst some incremental improvements are being made, particularly the toilets, the overall passenger experience remains bad. Passenger facilities are very poor. Before immigration, there is no decent place to eat. After immigration, facilities are very limited. There are only food kiosks, and no single decent restaurant. The passenger waiting area is too cramped, seats are uncomfortably placed that you can literally bump into the head of the person sitting right behind you or the knees of the person sitting across you. There is no quiet space, endless announcements are being made every minute. Even the announcements for domestic flights are heard at the international terminal. I hope airport officials realize that noise levels contribute to passenger stress. Overall, this airport is such a stressful place to wait for your flight.

✅ Trip Verified | The airport, Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1, improved a lot. The last time I used it was around 2015. The arrival was pretty straight forward. The walk was short but it is evident on the finishing, flooring, and lighting that the airport was built long time ago. The hallways were empty from any shops that made the flow of passenger smooth. However, Immigration counter's quite short for the volume of the passengers. Also, luggages took a while before it reaches the carousel. Upon departure, the airport was quite busy but seems organised. Amenities are clean and design's outdated. Facility wise, they are functional and clean. Design wise, they are outdated and brings me back to the 70s. Immigration counters are insufficient. They need to add more counters both for Foreign Passport holders and Filipino and OFW Passport holders. Overall, the experience was really relaxed and did not feel and stress during the security check except for the Aussie Gov't's requirement of opening the luggage, it was really annoying! Good Job NAIA! Keep it up and challenge yourself to be better!

✅ Trip Verified | To be fair this airport has improved a lot - Terminal 1. Clean restrooms, fast and efficient immigration procedure. The only problem I see is the number of immigration counters not enough to cater the growing number passengers year by year. There has been a concerted effort to upgrade the services of this airport and by far they are on the right track.

✅ Trip Verified | Terminal 3. A very old terminal with very few facilities however, was intercepted by a hostess and directed to the pay to enter Manila Club which was upstairs and offered some food and drinks. Well worth the PP750. We spent 2 comfortable hours. This is the only oasis I could find in an otherwise very old and shabby.

❎ Not Verified | Absolutely the worst international airport I have ever been in. So unorganized. Not 1 restaurant. Only fast food microwaved and pre-made food. No table seating. Not enough chairs. 1 bathroom with 3 stalls! Huge lineup. Asked to use the PAL lounge, nope. No pay for use. Only 1st and business class customers. Also an additional boarding pass / passport check 2 hours before boarding. An enormous snaking line up in the terminal, for what reason? No one could explain it to me. Avoid Phillipine Airlines departures from terminal 2 at all costs!

❎ Not Verified | Philippine Airlines changed our connecting flight and we had to spend the night in Manila flying for our flight into Daumaggette. On the flight back from Manila to Incheon we had to wait for 7 hours in Terminal 2. Once inside Terminal 2 there are no restaurants and only food kiosks with very limited selection and poor quality. In addition most kiosks only take cash. Please select another city for a layover for your connecting flight and save yourself the stress. The airport terminal lacks all basic amenities making it one of the longest layovers I have ever had.

✅ Trip Verified | Used Terminal 3 international, arriving and departing on Cathay Pacific. We had no real problems. Overall I would say that this terminal is adequate as it is large, so has space to include the facilities that terminals 1 and 2 don't have. Prior to landing we circled for 15 minutes waiting our slot. Arrival was straightforward. Immigration had about a 10 minute queue and the baggage wait was also about 10 minutes probably due to no other international flights at that time. We got a fixed rate taxi outside the terminal, and, despite it being about 5pm, reached our hotel in 30 minutes with no traffic delays. The terminal is modern and it is spacious so there was sufficient space if there were long queues. Departure was also easy. A queue of about 5 passengers to get into the terminal via a baggage x-ray. Check in had no queue and then immigration had a queue of about 10 minutes. Security check was also about 10 minutes. The aircon in the building was not fully functional so a little warm. There are an array of shops and eating places but we didn't use them. Our scheduled departure time was 20.55 but we left the gate at 20.45 so very good and took off at 21.00. I think there are not so many air traffic control issues at night. Certainly not the horror terminal of so many other reviews.

✅ Trip Verified | That airport is not as bad as most of the comments here. Used terminal 3 for my international arrival and departures and Terminal 4 for domestic. Terminal 3 is quite modern, arrival procedure was fast. From arriving the gate to leave the airport I need appr. 45 minutes which is not that bad. Departure process was also ok, I needed 30 mins from arriving check in to pass immigration and security, most of the time I needed to wait at immigration. Wifi works ok and was limited to 2 hours. Some decend shops there, but I did not see a duty free with good choice. Restaurants dont look recommendable. Smoking lounges are available but very small. Terminal 4 is more like a bus station, check in was very unefficient, after check in you need to pass to a waiting hall with several simple shops.