Manila Airport

NAIA Terminal 1 renovation still ongoing however there are a lot of significant nice changes especially in the check-in area more modern flight information display check in counters are now refreshed more space and seats. Queue for immigration is shorter compare from previous months. Air temperature is cooler up to the duty free area only but very hot in the gate areas. Walls ceilings toilets carpets and food choices are renovated. Terminal renovation is set to be finished by May 2015. Queue for airline check-in is very chaotic due to space.

It appears some improvements have been made although still more needs to be done to raise the standard of Terminal 1 to anywhere near that of most other airports in the region. This being a late morning departure it was not overly crowded. On arrival into the building there was a standard security check quite normal. Although there were monitors indicating the departure gates we found no information on the specific location of airline counters within the check- in area. Eventually after some searching we found ours. Although we arrived at the terminal relatively late (two hours before departure) the line wasn't long and with four desks open the check-in procedure took no more than 15 minutes including waiting time. Immigration cards were completed after which we proceeded to pay the user charge 750 pesos per person (USD 17.50 would also have been accepted) a five minute wait in line. Passport control was next; this entailed the longest queue roughly 20 minutes. Immediately thereafter was the aviation security check only a minute and we were through. A brief stop at the washroom which was acceptable although slightly crowded. Finally a 6-7 minute walk to Gate 3; considering other reviews regarding the Terminal 1 waiting areas we were pleasantly surprised as it seemed relatively recently refurbished. The only complaint we might have would be the acoustics which left somewhat to be desired. It was difficult to hear the many announcements with all the chatting among our fellow passengers. The entire terminal was overall clean and in reasonably good shape considering it's age.

Arriving and departing 15 times from Manila Terminal 1 a big mess feels back to the 70s again. As a thank you you also need to pay 700PHP "Departure tax". Check-in desk are not able to cope with the all the people when its rush time therefore check-in opens even 4 hours earlier on certain times. Almost no chairs to sit around 30 chairs at minimum. Do not come earlier to terminal 1 you will endure a long and tireful standing as there will be no chairs available whatsoever. Airside toilets not working and not clean. Only a few shops available that sell stuff with high prices.

Terminal 1 in Manila continues to be one of the worst in Asia. Superficially they have painted the terminal, done some work on the roof etc but continues to suffer. The check-in area has inadequate seating. Passport control is not too bad but staff are not friendly. Adequate food and drink options but take the worst of Philippine food, overcharge and then provide no tables and chairs and you have the worst eating experience of any airport. Terrible toilets - not enough and not too clean. Pick-up and taxis are the one area that has improved, but never take a white cab or coupon taxi.

Manila airport T2 is for exclusive use of PAL with the North Wing reserved for international travellers and the South for domestic travel. In either terminal you go through layers and layers of security. The first one begins as you enter where there is an initial document check. Only ticketed passengers are allowed in the terminal. Next is an x-ray and metal detector prior to check in. Then immigration then a final security. For those whose flights head for the US, an additional layer is required by the TSA. It is therefore no surprise that even before one boards the aircraft a certain feeling of fatigue sets in. On the departure leg (MNL-HKG), since this was an early morning flight, little resistance was met in all layers, but one can feel the inefficiency, especially of the check in process (considering I was travelling in Business Class). I'd expect the Business Class lane to be free at this time, but it seems that they allowed some lanes to be open for economy class passengers. No biggie, just a little confused. Short lines through immigration and final security was pretty quick too. However, again, since there were layers of what I see as pointless stops, the entire process to reach the gates were just tiresome. The boarding process also was pretty chaotic where there were absolutely no semblance of queueing order (even in the priority lanes). The return experience was no less unpleasant. Queues in the submission of the health declaration was unreasonably long where the officers collecting the forms had no sense of urgency, notwithstanding the simultaneous disembarkation of an A330 and B777. Same experience in the immigration queues and baggage claim. I think Philippine airport authorities of late have mastered the art of chaotic organisation.

✅ Verified Review | Manila Airport terminal 2 seriously needs upgrade and renovation. For starters, there are only 6 washroom cubicles per gender serving all Philippine Airlines international flights. The queues are always extremely long and for those catching a flight are advised to hold it in until you get to the plane or endure the lines. Secondly, large sections of the terminal are dedicated for additional security checks for the US, London, Australia and the like, leaving other passengers going elsewhere to sit wherever they can. And as it is always crowded and the terminal is small, it is very hard to move around. Thirdly, only few food kiosks are available with mediocre food offerings. As usual lines are long for those wanting to get a bite to eat. In conclusion, the airport terminal is inadequate and requires a serious revamp.

❎ Unverified | This airport is what hell is like. It has 3 food stalls all of which are gross and cash only. There is no way to get out cash or transfer currency once here so if you have no cash you will be unable to purchase food or drink for the duration of your stay. Departure gates not shown on the board and the gate was changed. I only discovered this by chance because I walked past the new gate and was like "hey that's my flight". Update: they just changed my gate again which I discovered after sitting at the gate labelled with my flight number when I overheard a conversation from another passenger. Despite going through security to get into the transfer section they won't check you for liquids until you get to your gate so you can't bring a bottle of water onto the plane.

✅ Trip Verified | I arrived at 555am for my 735am flight and there were very long lines just to enter the airport building. To add to it, there were people who bribed to cut in (I was offered that for USD 20 but I declined). After 20 minutes, I got in to another chaotic area. Check in was thankfully quick for Singapore Airlines (took only 2 minutes). I then joined passport control which wasn't too bad (10 minutes) but then the security queues - only 3 screening stations in operation so there were literally hundreds of people in the queue. It took about half an hour to clear that. So, 1 full hour from the time I got out of the car until I cleared security. It may be the newest terminal but it looks plain and old already. If the 38-year old Singapore Changi is a 5* hotel, then NAIA T3 is a much new 2* budget hotel. Getting off the plane at Changi, if felt like I took a flight from Hell to Heaven.

✅ Trip Verified | Arrived at Philippine Airlines dedicated Terminal 2, after coming off the aircraft you can see that the airport is small. Arriving on December, there were long lines most especially at the immigration counter, very frustrating if you hold a foreign passport. Hopefully once the New Manila Airport is built they will move there.

They should do something about T2. Took PR 730 (0935H departure) and the transit area is a zoo. Checking in and clearing immigration wasn't too much of a hassle but the agony begins in the transit area. Too many flights departing within a few minutes of each other in such a small space would make the claustrophobic and agoraphobic go into seizures. Only one set of toilets servicing 12 gates of wide body jets mean snaking queues especially for the ladies' room (singular). The sea of humanity makes the air-conditioning practically non existent. I suggest for PAL to move some flights to T3 the way they did for their domestic ones. T2 just couldn't handle the volume.