NAIA woes not yet over

GENEVA – Now that the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminals are being run by a private sector-led management, it generated a lot of great expectations of improvements, at least on the services for starters. It will take definitely a longer period for the upgrade of existing facilities, given the enormous amount of investments it sorely needs.

The government, through the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), officially turned over last Sept. 14 the management of NAIA passenger terminals 1, 2, 3 and 4 to the San Miguel Corp. (SMC)-led group that took over the operations and maintenance of all four NAIA terminals.

But one should have lower expectations to avoid being dismayed by the realities on the ground.

It was only last July 31 that I was at the NAIA Terminal 3 for an official trip to Sydney, Australia. It was my first time to travel abroad again after the March 2020 COVID pandemic, when lockdown on travel to and from the Philippines was imposed. Passengers, especially on international flights, were advised to give at least four hours lead-time to arrive at NAIA during the pandemic due to the added processes of anti-COVID screening and other health and security protocols required then.

With the pandemic period over and done with, passengers are still advised to arrive four hours ahead of scheduled flight. Travelers must really get ahead of the hellish traffic going to the NAIA, especially if one will originate from far-flung parts in Metro Manila.

But much worse traffic is found right inside the NAIA terminals. The four hours allowance is apparently to account for the motions which a passenger must go through before being able to board the flight.

The queue starts at the entry gates at NAIA. But that’s bearable now because the MIAA earlier removed the x-ray machines that used to cause the long lines of departing passengers. The next arduous queue is at the airline desk for check-in. Not all but many of the airline ground crews, whether foreigner or local hires, are not mindful at all to help ease the long lines of passengers. Adding to the human traffic inside the terminals are the usual over-sized baggage/luggage and piles of balikbayan boxes of typical Pinoy travelers.

The next traffic mess to hurdle is at the Immigration section. Despite many Immigration booths and e-travel done online, you will still be overwhelmed by the snake-like queues of passengers. Fortunately, being a senior citizen got me to the shorter queue for the elderly, persons with disability, pregnant women and passengers accompanying children.

The last stop is at the Customs security x-ray check. With the bulk of passengers still stuck at the Immigration lines, the queues at the Customs area are much shorter. But a number of passengers get stuck at Customs check-in if they are found carrying certain restricted items, if not contraband. That causes delay to the rest of the compliant passengers waiting in line.

That is how I saw NAIA Terminal-3, still in the same old situation, when we took off for our trip to Switzerland last Monday. But it’s been only less than a month after the new management took over. So we’ll wait with bated breath to see how the new NAIA operators will troubleshoot the traffic inside and outside the airport.

If you try to avoid the hellish road traffic, using the paid tollways of the overhead Skyway/NAIA-X might not be the way out of slow-moving vehicles. A motorist is notified of the traffic speed in the overhead neon sign halfway through the NAIA-X. But if you enter the Skyway during the 6 p.m. rush hour, traffic is moving at 29 to 34 kilometers per hour (kph) when the maximum speed is 60 kph. Ironically, another RSA-run subsidiary, San Miguel Infrastructure, runs the Skyway system.

SMC chairman Ramon S. Ang, fondly called RSA, put up P30 billion to operate and maintain the NAIA under the New NAIA Infrastructure Corp. (NNIC), a consortium of companies that includes the SMC and Incheon International Airport Corp. RSA concurrently is the NNIC president who would oversee the total make-over of NAIA as our country’s premier airport.

To achieve this, the NNIC will undertake massive rehabilitation of buildings, runways, passenger lounges and the rest of the internal and external structures of these airport facilities, all located in Pasay City. Finance Secretary Ralph Recto dubbed this NAIA rehab project as the largest public-private partnership deal finally undertaken during the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM).

Under its concession contract, the NNIC is committed to increase airport capacity from 35 million passengers annually to 62 million and expand air traffic movements per hour from 40 to 48.

“This will not only transform NAIA into a world-class airport, but also guarantees the government a healthy income stream from the private sector operator,” Recto cited. In the 15-year concession contract of the NNIC, the government is expected to generate around P900 billion, the contract extendable by another 10 years.

The turnover should jumpstart the 15-year transformation of NAIA which has earned the dubious recognition as one of the worst airports in the region.

Apart from the upfront payment, the government will receive a fixed P2-billion annual payment and an 82 percent revenue share, excluding passenger service charges. Just last week, fees for vehicle parking around NAIA terminals as well as fees for take-off and landing of airplanes were officially increased, effective Oct.1.

NAIA terminal fees will be raised by September next year. The present P200 for domestic flights will go up to P390. The fee for international flights will also be hiked to P950 from the present P550. Overseas Filipino workers, however, will remain exempt from paying international departure fees as provided by existing laws, the NNIC announced.

But one airport’s systemic woes are forgotten upon arrival here in the very tourist-friendly land of the Alps.