No more liberty passes

After the initial shock over the increased rates in parking fees at the NAIA T3 that has turned around into public appreciation and positive feedback towards NNIC, the next thunder roll will come from the announcement that all “special IDs and access passes” issued to politicians, government officials, religious entities, media personnel, travel agencies and hotels, even MUP officials, will be cancelled.

All individuals or companies will have to reapply but from what I heard, the NNIC might no longer issue short-term or long-term passes but instead limit everything to “Day Pass” within restricted areas and no longer “Access To All Areas” passes. After many meetings, NNIC officials have decided to cancel all ID/access passes because there is no reliable count on the number of IDs and special passes that are out there.

Just about every other congressman has a travel agency or an assigned military or PNP liaison. The same goes for senators, Cabinet secretaries as well as those in various levels of the Judiciary. Every branch of the AFP and the PNP has personnel going in and out of airports, often to accompany or provide security to their VIPs.

Hotel representatives, drivers, as well as tour guides go deep inside the airport to herd tour groups. There are also the airline representatives and employees holding office there, locators and employees of the many restaurants, stores, banks, etc., all of them requiring access IDs.

A number of foreign airline consultants were actually interested to know if the number of IDs/passes were in the thousands and how soon this next level of security upgrade will be implemented. The airline operators and foreign executives are clearly supportive of tougher restrictions and security measures at the NAIA.

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After hearing all about the changes being implemented by the NNIC, we received suggestions that the next thing the NNIC management should act on is to review all the restaurant and retail locators at various NAIA terminals.

The observation shared was that there were too many restaurants, fast-food outlets, food kiosks and retail stores but most of them can’t compare with what travelers see and experience in Singapore, Japan or Thailand airports. A former customs official told me that some of the restaurants or stores belong to politicians, relatives of airport officials in the past or airport employees themselves.

While there is generally nothing wrong with that set-up, what insiders pointed out is that airport F&B has largely been mom-&-pop style, hole-in-the-wall style or minimalized in space and presentation. Only about two known restaurants were big, spread out and comfortable for customers.

I personally have experienced how dirty or poorly maintained the tables at an iconic coffee shop was because they have too many customers and not enough cleaning crew to properly clear and clean tables as well as trash bins.

Even the retail stores selling clothes, electronics, etc. looked more like surplus stores or export over-run outlets carrying third choice goods instead of prime products. Many of them are not invested in terms of image or fit into what should be the “terminal design or look.” As suggested by PBBM himself, our airports must speak to the expectations and comfort of travelers.

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Last Thursday evening, I found myself in the middle of aviation and energy players and bosses and the hot topic was about all the ongoing changes at the NAIA being implemented by NNIC. I suddenly realized how it feels to be surrounded by chiefs and you’re the only Indian.

It seems that a number of individuals have been fueling tensions between the NNIC and the airlines by doing “he said-she said” tattle tales or “sumbungan” alleging that SMC president and CEO Ramon S. Ang has expressed his displeasure and dismay towards a particular group for holding out and not cooperating with the NNIC.

As a result, certain top airline executives were very concerned that they have been singled out as principal suspects and the hands behind media reports critical of ongoing NNIC changes or improvements in NAIA, particularly the new fees recommended by the ADB and required by the DOTr, as well as the recent reassignment of terminals.

If I had a stack of Bibles on hand, I’m sure they would have all placed their right hand while swearing to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. From top to middle management, everyone I spoke with made an effort to state that they had nothing to do with the bad press and were there to cooperate.

To be honest, even before I arrived at the event, I suspected that the discussion would take place, questions would be asked regarding the matter, but I was surprised at the degree of candidness in the conversations. I guess it’s been a while since I’ve been around expats and CEOs in various industries. In the end, I could only say what I knew firsthand and repeated RSA’s request for everybody to cooperate, do their part and move on.

As for the “sumbungan,” “fire starters,” etc., I simply told anyone listening to just meet up with their counterparts, whether it’s the CEO, the operations manager or the public relations head. True or false, the only way to nip rumors in the bud is to speak directly to the person concerned.

Last but not least, I told several individuals that it would be best for each of them to focus on their business plans, making their organizations the best in each industry and focus on how to get the best in the situation. Fly your planes, lead your industry and let RSA and NNIC give you the best place to do business in.

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