The NAIA and Mark

Before my cultural visit to Sydney and Melbourne (Feb. 20 to 27) upon the invitation of Ambassador Ruth Pearce, embassy officials Rowena Brown, Christine Griffiths and Carlo Figueroa, and not the least local Qantas Airways manager Honeybee Hubahib (she’s Filipino), her personal assistant Grace Vicencio and marketing coordinator Lizette Rebanal were thoroughly working out the many details of my trip with Australian Tourism Manager Peter Ritchie, leaving nothing to misinformation. Or to chance.

On the afternoon I flew to Sydney, Customer Service Agents Mark Bañas attended to me behind the counter with utmost courtesy (we did not know each other personally); his assistant, Jessie Jarque, then escorted me all the way to Immigration. Seconds before I boarded Qantas, Mark was right outside the plane bidding the passengers a happy trip!

A week later, having gone through the huge, modern airports of Sydney and Melbourne I instantly knew I was back at the relatively small, shabby NAIA where I waited for my luggage – in front of the wrong carousel! At the neighboring carousel, Mark was attending to a Mr. Bowie who, owing to a change of aircraft, had lost his luggage. Mark quickly assured Mr. Bowie he would get back his luggage, and that he would be billeted, while waiting for it, at a private hotel, courtesy of Qantas.

Meanwhile, I inevitably noticed that the rug surrounding the carousel was in tatters. Furthermore, the distance between the moving wooden panel (transporting the suitcases, large boxes, etc.) and the carousel itself was such that the pieces of luggage would drop onto the carousel with a terrible thud each time. What might have the foreigners been thinking?

The Pinoys were generally noisy: "Has your suitcase come?", "Where is my box?", "I think my suitcase has fallen apart", they would tell or ask each other. What might have the foreigners been thinking?

A kind soul pointed out to me the Qantas carousel at which place Mark was attending to the aforementioned Mr. Bowie. As soon as Mark saw me, he realized I had lost much time waiting at the wrong carousel — I have never been good at technical details – and to add to my miseries, I had inadvertently informed my folks I was arriving the next day. Consequently, no car was picking me up!

Mark had pushed my luggage trolley way down to the waiting area, then arranged for a taxi to drive me home. Moreover, he steadfastly refused to leave my side until I had safely boarded the private (and reliable) cab. The hour was late and Mark, who had been attending to customers since early afternoon, looked exhausted. Before waving goodbye to him and thanking him and his assistants Jessie Jacque and Ernie Gray, I told him that his invaluable help and personalized attention had made a full circle – having come as I did upon my departure and arrival.

The whole point of my bringing up the NAIA and Mark Bañas is that although Mark and his staff are a credit to both the NAIA and Qantas, the NAIA itself, in its current state, is a continuing embarrassment and disgrace to the country.

Parties concerned should stop their bickering over the new, state-of-the-art airport at once so it can open soonest, thereby attracting tourists and helping our ailing economy.