Worst Airport in the World: NAIA Executives Urged to Resign

Following another embarrassing blow for the country's main gateway as it was voted the world's worst airport for the third consecutive year in the online Guide to Sleeping in Airports, a local politician is calling on officials of the Manila International Airport Authority to resign for the embarrassment caused to the country exposing the Philippines to ridicule before the international community.

Image Source: Bubblews.com

In a statement released by Valenzuela representative Sherwin Gatchalian, he indicated that a resignation would be an acceptable gesture of remorse. "There's no excuse for the inefficiency and for screwing up efforts to improve the image of the Philippines," said Gatchalian. "The primary aim of any terminal is customer satisfaction. Is that too difficult a challenge?"

Gatchalian referred to admissions from officials that the original P1.1 billion fund for the rehabilitation of Terminal 1 at Ninoy Aquino International Airport was never used for its intended purpose. The Commission on Audit handed down severe criticism of management at the Manila International Airport Authority for failure to use the P1.1 billion allocated. 

Gatchalian added that had officials from NAIA been judicious enough to use the funds allocated, they could have spared the country embarrassment for a second time. "If NAIA-1 has the budget, then there is no reason for the airport to regress and open itself to bad publicity," said Gatchalian. "They have the money, but obviously they failed to efficiently manage the full spectrum of airport and aviation system operations. It's more of a management, or clearly, a mismanagement issue." 

According to Gatchalian, the Department of Transportation and Communications must appoint airport administrators who are familiar with airport management and are prepared to face the ever changing needs of a rapidly expanding sector through management development and training. "NAIA-1 is the Philippines' flagship airport. Almost eight percent of international carriers are still housed in the complex," said Gatchalian. "The airport management needs to address issues and come up with ISO-standard management solutions, otherwise, we compromise the passengers' convenience, and jeopardize the safety of the entire complex."

Gatchalian says that the management of Ninoy Aquino International Airport have failed to find ways to manage the smallest issues including traffic, parking, and passenger congestion. "Management should understand that the problem is not only limited to infrastructure but also extends to administration," said Gatchalian.