EDITORIAL — The fourth worst

Here’s another problem that turns off foreign investors, and its solution does not call for amending the Constitution. Business class travelers – people with the type of money that can provide job-generating enterprises in the Philippines – have ranked the Ninoy Aquino International Airport as the fourth worst gateway in Asia and the Middle East.

The rankings were drawn up by London-based business research and information website publisher BusinessFinancing.co.uk. It based the list on passenger reviews around the world collated from Airline Quality, a customer review site developed and managed by aviation consultancy Skytrax. BusinessFinancing.co.uk then filtered the reviews down to business class travelers.

Airports give most foreign travelers their first experience of a country, and can indicate the type of welcome that awaits tourists and investors. It’s no coincidence that the airports picked by business travelers as the world’s three best are located in some of the most competitive economies: No Bai in Vietnam, Singapore’s Changi and Hong Kong International.

Of the top 20 on the list, 12 are in Asia. In addition to the three best, the others in the region are Narita and Haneda in Japan; India’s Kempegowda, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Indira Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel; Indonesia’s Ngurah Rai and South Korea’s Incheon.

In Asia and the Middle East, the Philippines was rated as the fourth worst after Kuwait International, Almaty in Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz. In Southeast Asia, others in the 10 worst list are Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi, Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur International and Don Mueang also in Thailand.

In drawing up the list, BusinessFinancing explained why business class travel exists: “Humans are creatures of comfort and habit. Removed from a familiar home setting and pushed through the crowds and security rituals of the airport, the business traveler soon desires something more. Some space for themselves, decent food and drink and a pleasant environment to pass the time as painlessly as possible.”

“But the airports themselves are less amenable,” BusinessFinancing observed. “These spaces are managed by a hodge-podge of private companies and underpaid service staff, dealing with a fast through traffic of stressed customers. They make their money from needs, not preferences – desperation, not desire – and it shows.”

The NAIA has been found wanting not only by business class travelers but also those flying coach. With its rehabilitation, maintenance and management privatized for at least 15 years, the public can only hope travelers will soon have a better experience in what is supposed to be the nation’s premier airport.