Cebu airport blues and its sunny side

I used to grumble on the inefficiency of the Mactan International Airport until my recent experience at the domestic arrival area.

But before anything else, what have we got so far? Noticeably, we have a fresher and roomy atmosphere at the check-in counters although I just don’t get it why handcarried luggage have to be weighed in again on your way to the gates. Why can’t they just do that upon check-in?

The boarding pass scanners are fantastic it’s just that I find it unnecessary to present our boarding passes again to the security guard upon entering the boarding lounge? Security checks are important but too much of needless checks definitely spoil the positive experience.

It’s a long shot though to achieve the kind of "dream airport" that Cebu should have in terms of look, feel and features. You see, you can’t help but compare when you already have gone to other airports like Korea, Dubai, Singapore, or Vegas. But hoping we will fret no more with the completion of the new terminal – which is said to be the country’s centerpiece infrastructure to host passengers with a twist of a resort-like ambiance.

*** If you’ve left a high-end smartphone, in a busy airport like Mactan, would you think that you would be able to recover it? Well, all smiles here because I got it back…just like that! Kudos to the very wonderful people of Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) for making it happen.

I only realized when I got home that I don’t have my phone anymore. The alert security guard knew that some unwitting dude just left a phone at the welcomers’ lounge. Thanks to Mr. Jessie Villamor for keeping an eye and to the very helpful staff of MCIAA for waiting up on me to handover it personally. They are: Mia Ejercito, Marie Cabahug and Liza Alvarado.

Well, Facebook also helped a lot when I posted the loss – it alerted the MCIAA people who were beat to the draw to safe-keep my phone before someone else makes an easy pick and snoop on my selfies…. bwhaahahahaha!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to the entire management of MCIAA for showing us the meaning of service and security when we are under your roof.

*** A seemingly pissed motorist, a.k.a. Seam Reap, messaged me to call the attention of the LGUs in metro Cebu for the burgeoning not to mention the worsening traffic from Mactan to Cebu and vice versa, which is now an hour plus drive for a 12-kilometer distance.

So what ever happened to the much ballyhooed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), the third bridge, and the proposed railway connecting the north and south? Any chance if they are really coming? According to her, “It seems like they are just all talk.” Well, let’s just hope all these plans will not end in the trash. Because if they do, will call it ‘trash talk.’

I have no answers as to where we are at this point on those infrastructure projects. The Regional Development Council (RDC) may have some updates though. Here’s hoping that RDC will bump upon this column.