Manila Airport

Not Verified | I had a 12-hour layover in this airport, and I had originally planned to spend it outside the airport with friends, but was told I couldn’t leave despite not having a passport requirement for the country. So I went to the business class lounge. The people were nice but it is lacking on all fronts, comfort, amenities, food options. Seating is very limited and furniture is dated and uncomfortable. The temperature was kept so cold I thought I might get hypothermia. I went in search of a blanket and after visiting every store the lounge gave me a towel to use as a blanket. Sleep is impossible, I tried. At the time of this writing, I still have two hours to go and I think I might go insane. I would not recommend this airport to anyone under any circumstance.

✅ Trip Verified | Terminal 1 of NAIA. Starting July 2023, Philippine Airlines merged all their international flights from previously split between T2 and T1 into one single terminal (T1). Previously my PR flight connections happened only in T2, and whilst it was not ideal, it served the function without too much hassle. Now welcome to the international transit hell called T1. First of all, upon disembarking the plane, there was zero sign pointing to transfer direction, you have to guess yourself or ask around (all signs only point to immigration and luggage collection). And then, after you reach the always chaotic transfer desk, you will be directed to the real bottleneck: ONE X-ray security check machine serving 150-200 m long queue of people (no, that's not a typo, the queue literally stretches from one end to the building to another, and more!). It's a blatant and complete disregard to transit passengers well being. It was complete chaos and debacle, with people losing their patience and started cutting in for the fear of missing their flights. I spent exactly 1 hour and 45 minutes standing in line. Security check is indeed the main weak link of this terminal and unless something is done to rectify the situation the transit service will soon collapse. I had a chance to experience exiting and entering T1 on a different occasion, and in fact the immigration was friendly and fast. Security check from outside into into the T1 took 40 minutes with only 4 or 5 X-ray machines and extremely slow process including shoes removal. T2 security for international transit does not require footwear removal so there is a glaring inconsistency there. Upon clearing international transit security of T1, things are not getting better. NAIA does not even bother to place a single monitor showing the consolidated schedule of which flight goes to which gate. Same difficulty also arises to find the correct business lounge for the flight (there are several lounges in T1, you can only enter designated lounge for your flight). Passengers are left wandering around for clues. Extremely unprofessional. Avoid T1 Manila at all costs.

Not Verified | I thought JKT is bad. We transited from Haneda to Jakarta. After we got to the transfer desk, we had to do x-ray once again — which is mindboggling, why would you need an x-ray for transit? It took us 45 minutes. 15 staff were present but only a few really did their purpose. There were not enough seats on the departure gate. Worst airport ever.

Not Verified | Stopped for a transfer from Japan to Australia. There was a line for x-ray screening (at a stopover?) which had 9 airport staff standing around and still managing to screw up each scan (due to poor organisation). A queue of 10 people took 20 minutes. The staff at each of the shops moved with the speed of a tired snail coming home from a funeral. The line for Subway was 5 people and took around 30 minutes to get through. The gates for take-off were repeatedly changed and when boarding, no organisation was given for groupings or order. We started boarding an hour later than indicated, and when boarding we all needed to go through another x-ray screening (why?), which given previous indications you can imagine took forever to get through. When finally on board, an hour later than expected, ready for take-off, we were pulled off the flight to unlock our luggage, as they supposedly needed to get through the TSA lock. At this point we had been at the airport for 5 hours and were not informed of this process until already onboard and about to take-off. After opening the bags for them to check and going back to our flight, we needed to go through another x-ray to get back on board. I will never step foot in this airport again.

Not Verified | The only things that I don't like are the terminal seating, terminal cleanliness and airport staff. Especially airport staff wasn't allowed me to go to toilet after going into the gate. That's stupid thing happen in my life. Doesn't makes any sense, does it?

Not Verified | We did not experience anything bad or unexpected while traveling through Manila Ninoy International Airport. It was reasonably clean (including bathrooms), well marked and the staff was helpful. We arrived and departed there from San Francisco (Philippine Airline) and did intra country flights using Cebu Pacific to Caron and Boracay. It is an extremely busy airport so double your before arrival time. Increase this more if it happens to be a Philippine holiday. Do online checkin. Have your covid shots done. Do your etravel before hand. Philippine Airlines will xray and open your checked bags to swab for explosives residue (more time).

Not Verified | Undoubtedly, one of the worlds worst international airports. Chaos and ineptitude rule with poorly trained staff, insufficient in every possible way from check-in to immigration to amenities. The newest terminal has recurring electrical shut down causing chaos on a holiday weekend! The technology is circa 1975 with not a single kiosk present. The place should be bulldozed completely and rebuilt and managed by an overseas entity or kept as The International Museum of Gross Ineptitude and Incompetence.

✅ Trip Verified | I am a frequent user of Manila's airport and I find it does not improve, in spite of so many negative comments. On this trip, I found that at least the former x-ray screening at the door as one enters had been done away. This was all well and good except for the fact that there was a guard at the door demanding to see my ticket and passport, which is inconvenient. Check in was fine - save for the fact that Qantas has a thorough baggage search that must be observed prior to check in and is an unholy nuisance. Once checked in, one has to proceed to immigration but before being allowed into the immigration area, one again has to show his documents to another security guard. Inside immigration, the lines are long and slow moving. As a resident of the country, I am required to pay a US$40+ fee to immigration for the pleasure of departing. When I paid this time, the clerk was unbelievably rude and unbecoming an official. She was eating at her desk, paying more attention to picking at her food than to her duties. She then tried to charge me a fee higher than normal, to which I objected. She agreed to the lower fee and when I paid her, failed to return the change due to me. She also wanted to know when I would be coming back - an odd question. From there, I proceeded to have my passport stamped which proved to be simple enough and actually put me at the head of the super-long immigration line. All of this hassle finished, I had to proceed through a security screening - and another super long line. Finally, I was able to go to the lounge and have a drink. Boarding was called and on my way to the gate was another security check. Manila Airport is an unholy mess. If you don't have to go to the Philippines, I would say do not go.

✅ Trip Verified | The worst customer experience I have ever had in an airport. Totally mess. The boarding guy asked my settlement status in the UK because of my European passport even though there is nothing to do with it. Even if i don't have I can travel as much as I want. There was 4 different security checks. 1 even after the x-ray thing which is weird. Just before the boarding gate. They took my clear tape there what I just bought. When I asked to show me the website or any place where it says it is not allowed, he just said there's no such a site. So I guess it was just invented by the security. I really didn't find the famous Filipino friendliness at all in this place.

✅ Trip Verified | The immigration staff are extremely rude and they interrogated me even though I was returning home for vacation. Baggage claim was a total mess. I was scared my baggage would be stolen because a lot of passengers were grabbing other people's bags and tossed it back to the conveyer. I do not know what is the purpose of that. There is also no wifi connection. I had to buy a SIM card there just to contact with my family who came to pick us up. The airport is a disaster.