NAIA 1 2nd worst airport in the world

THE Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 (NAIA 1) again made headlines in the international arena, but in a bad way.

NAIA 1 was adjudged by travel guide Frommer’s as the second worst airport in the world.

According to an article by USA Today, Frommers.com named New York City’s JFK Airport Terminal 3 as the world’s worst airport.

Frommers.com said that they based their list of worst and best airports on cleanliness, services, on-time departures, navigation and the ease of getting to and from a city’s center.

“(JFK Airport) Terminal 3 is known for endless immigration lines in a dank basement, an utter lack of food and shopping options, three crowded and confusing entry points, and hallways that could have been designed by M.C Escher for vomiting international travelers out onto an underground sidewalk with no cabs available,” Frommers.com was quoted by USA Today.

There were no comments about NAIA 1, which is scheduled to undergo renovation this year after it was named the world’s worst airport by the website Guide to Sleeping in Airports in 2011.

NAIA 1 was the only Asian airport on the “worst list.” Other airports considered the “worst” were Newark’s Terminal B, US Airways terminal at New York City’s LaGuardia, Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport Terminal B/C, Amman (Jordan) Queen Alia Airport and Chicago Midway Airport, and Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Terminal 3 and Beauvais Airport.

The world’s best airport, according to Frommer’s, was Hajj Terminal at the King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, even if it is only open during the six-week Hajj.

The Leifur Eiríksson Air Terminal in Keflavik, Iceland also earned good reviews, for being cozy.

Two Asian airports made it to the “best” list—Seoul’s Incheon Airport and Singapore’s Changi International Airport Terminal 3.

The JetBlue Airways’ Terminal 5 in New York City’s JFK Airport was the only US airport on the “best list” in the US, for its iconic and modern terminal with the best airport food court.

Other airports in the “best list” are Wellington, New Zealand; Madrid; Marrakech, Morocco; Montevideo, Uruguay; and Bilbao, Spain. –Francis Earl A. Cueto, Correspondent, Manila Times