Manila Airport

Manila Terminal 2 must be the worst airport in the world. I went this evening (13 December) to meet and greet my sister. People waiting are kept outside in 32C heat where there are 2 exits and no indication which one will be used by the passenger. There are no boards indicating flight status and no information desks. There are no seats. We went to the car in the parking area at 8:10 pm. It took 50 minutes to reach the pay booth. There must have been 100 vehicles jammed in fighting for every inch. The vehicles were not lined up, as clearly there was a very poor design to manage the traffic leading to the 2, only 2, toll booths. Of course, the parking management was nowhere to be seen.

On arrival to Manila Airport (during APEC) 30 minutes from aircraft to the public pick up area (Terminal 1). Cannot fault this anywhere in the world and the terminal had clearly been spruced up for APEC. Departures (Terminal 3 both domestic and international) were easy and quick. Despite what has been written here before it was hard to fault this airport. If I was to be picky the aircon in the international departures area of Terminal 3 struggled with the setting sun pouring through the glass. Plenty of shops, food outlets and clean toilets.

This is by far the worst International airport in the world. On this trip I got to experience 3 of the terminals - 1, 2, and 3. Terminal 1 is the only terminal that has a hope as they have renovated it. However it is full of confusion and construction and has a long way to go to be any good. Check in at the counter was a joke as they have no line dividers so there is just one huge long line for check in that winds across the entire check in area. Buy some line dividers and be normal. Internet is absolutely terrible - you cannot even skype on it let alone send an email. Terminal 2. This should be torn down and replaced as soon as possible. It saw its day 25 years ago and is the least modern airport in Asia. Philippine Airlines should be embarrassed to operate out of this terminal. There are so many reasons to close this but a few are: It looks very old, terrible metal seats, only one washroom per international or domestic departure area (amazing), and the worst internet in the world. Terminal 3. This is the most modern terminal but fails in a big way for the following reasons. Total lack of air conditioning on the upper level. I talked to the staff in the restaurants and they said it has always been like that! Terrible internet. Very long lines (up to 1 hour) to get into the terminal to check in to your flight - this is just the security check point. Lastly there is a supposed shuttle bus to take you between terminals - forget it. I waited 50 minutes for the bus to come and when it arrived it was packed, no where to put my luggage. Then it gets on the main road into the Manila traffic to go to the next terminal and you can be there for another 45 minutes just go to 2 miles. Given that in Asia some of the nicest airports exist only a few hours from Manila I would like to know how the government of the Philippines can justify that this is the first thing and last thing that guests to their country experience.

If you are traveling on Qantas back to Australia it is likely you will leave from Gate 2, which is somewhat of a dungeon. Once you pass through the security and find your gate you will be searched again and any liquids bought from the airport shops will be confiscated. There is a row of employees who will physically go through your bags again. Why? I have no idea. At Gate 2 there are no toilets and go to one means giving your ticket to the security staff who issue you with a pass. Speaking of no toilets, once you enter the airport foyer and join the multitudes waiting to check in the bags, there are no toilets. You must exit the foyer to the public area and then re-enter the airport through security. Ridiculous.

Though improved since my first visit, it remains the worst of the two dozen airports I have used. Terrible bathrooms, lack of international food, currency exchange rates, customer service, up to date flight information. Inside and outside look to get ripped off.

Terminal 1 has finally been improved and will be better once all constructions are finished. Terminal 2 and 3 are usually fine and the best. Terminal 4 is a horror. Similar to Metro Manila overall, there is traffic everywhere and getting to and from the airport, as well as the check-in require much patience and faith.

Traveling to LAX from Manila and went thru 2 security check points then settled at gate N4 to wait to board. We bought a bottle of water from one of the kiosks in the waiting area before going through the 3rd security check point. First, the announcement that the gate was changed from N4 to N6 came late. Then, the unopened bottled water that we bought inside the terminal was confiscated and we were told that we are allowed to drink it by the security station. We bought that water not 5 feet away and it was still sealed. How stupid is that. The only good thing about this airport is the wifi.

T3 arrival mid afternoon on Cebu Pacific. The usual long walk from the gate with marginally functioning aircon and no working travelators. Immigration was slick and quick (few minutes) and another 10 minute wait on my bag. I was landside within 30 mins of landing which is pretty good. I don't bother with the Taxi's outside Arrivals (few taxi's / long queues) and prefer to go up to the Departures area where there's better taxi availability. On Departure since there are now more airlines using Terminal 3 and Cebu Pacific are getting squeezed into a smaller area. Landside is always busy, with hardly anywhere to sit, so the trick is to arrive at the terminal shortly before your flight opens (usually 3 hrs before Departure). Cebu Pacific Check-in now is one long queue for all international destinations. I preferred the old way - flight specific queues - check in early before the queue forms and relax airside. Check-in was a good 45 mins but no queues in Immigration or Security in the early evening and I was airside with a book and a cocktail 10 minutes later. T3 is by far the best MNL Terminal and definately affects my choice of airline.

It has been 9 months since I last used NAIA T1 and nothing much has changed with lots of renovations happening which were supposed to have been finished in March. Still the same chaos and inefficiency inside the terminal. Immigration seemed a little more organized but the person manning the counter was miserable. One plus side is you don't have to fill out the lengthy customs form and you have two channels to walk through for nothing to declare or declare which if you have no check-in baggage is a dream. It's still a very stuffy terminal with a lack of cold A/C's working and made worse when the heat of the sun is upon the building. Once outside there is just no proper signage to guide you anywhere and no one to help you. Lucky I know where the rental car stations are so was able to get out of this terminal in less than 20 minutes because I had no check in baggage.

I flew out of and arrived at Terminal 3 of Manila Airport, which is by far the best terminal in the airport. This isn't really saying much since Terminals one and two are probably the worst I've ever seen in my life for an international airport. Since my arrival at Terminal 1 is just slightly too long ago for me to review it, this will just be about Terminal 3. For those who don't know, unlike most large international airports, the three terminals are completely distinct and don't have any train or form of transportation between terminals. Terminal 3 is the "newest" one of the three and is one that actually resembles a decent airport. I would give the terminal itself a 6/10 but given the other two terminals, I'm forced to bring down the overall rating. If possible, I highly suggest flying out of Clark instead of NAIA.