DOTr defends NAIA improvements amid ‘unfavorable’ review

MANILA – The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Saturday pointed out the significant improvements at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) under the Duterte administration amid a study that allegedly showed unfavorable rating and unsubstantiated claims about the country’s main gateway.

The rating is based on a study by Bounce Luggage Storage which compiled reviews aggregated via the blog businessclass.com and Skytrax.

Bounce Luggage Storage operates in several airports in the United States and Asia but has no operation whatsoever in the Philippines.

An extensive DOTr search on the businessclass.com website showed no reviews nor ratings concerning NAIA.

“It is also unknown when exactly the rating was done but a check with the feedbacks concerning the NAIA were dated 2020 as the latest, with most reviews and complaints coming from transiting international passengers who did not use the business class lounges,” the DOTr said in a statement.

According to the study, NAIA obtained the worst scoring in three categories: number of destinations, on-time performance, and rating from Skytrax, a United Kingdom-based consultancy that runs an airline and airport review and ranking site.

On the number of destinations, the DOTr said it is dictated by and determined through bilateral and air services negotiations.

“It is also important to note that NAIA is a destination airport and not a hub airport, which is why there are not much business class lounges and onward destinations. Passengers using business class lounges are those passing through for brief business trips or for stopovers to take their onward/connecting flight to their final destinations. Airlines primarily determine their needs to put up business class lounges for their customers. Business-class lounges abound in hub airports, which NAIA is not,” the agency explained.

Likewise, the DOTr said it is “highly implausible that the on-time performance contributed to NAIA’s supposedly worst rating”.

During the last quarter of 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, the Air Carriers Association of the Philippines reported to the DOTr that the airlines’ running On-Time Performance (OTP) average was 83 percent, a far cry from the previous OTP of 40 percent in 2016.

The Skytrax website showed that NAIA had a three-star rating, indicating that staff service standards or the production facilities are “fair or average”.

The website states that Skytrax applies ratings between “1-Star and 5-Star” for up to 800 customer-facing areas of airport products and services based on the front-line customer experience on the end-to-end journey through an airport.

“In 2018, NAIA made it to the top 10 of the world’s most improved airports based on the 2018 World Airport Awards, also conducted by Skytrax. Since then, we have already undertaken more improvements in our facilities all geared to improve the entire passenger experience of a traveler,” DOTr stated.

The DOTr said that under President Rodrigo Duterte and Secretary Art Tugade, NAIA stamped out longstanding issues that have tarnished the reputation of the airport for years, including the infamous “laglag-bala” (planting bullet), extortion scheme, and “bukas-bagahe” (baggage pilferage).

“We should also not turn a blind eye to the remarkable developments reached that aim to improve the services at the airport, such as the rehabilitation and upgrade of the airport facilities, including its terminals and runway,” the statement read.

Even with all the improvements already in place and with more still in the pipeline, DOTr and Manila International Airport Authority will continue to improve the airport facilities and its services to ensure a safe, reliable, convenient, and comfortable travel experience to the air riding public, the agency said.

“Rest assured that the review shall serve as an inspiration for us to do more and better. Despite challenges, setbacks, and criticisms, it is undeniable that the country’s main gateway – the Ninoy Aquino International Airport – has come a long way from where it was before,” the DOTr said.