NAIA MOST STRESSFUL TAG A ‘CHALLENGE’ – DOTR CHIEF

“WE take this as a challenge.”

This was the reaction of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista to the recent inclusion of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in the list of the most stressful airports in Asia and Oceania.

“We welcome comments, suggestions, recommendations and even criticisms because this is the way for us to be able to know what the passengers are feeling and what they need so that we can address these,” Bautista said on Tuesday.

NAIA was recently listed as among Asia’s most stressful airports in Asia and Oceania.

The results were based on data collected by travel vlog Hawaiian Islands, which analyzed reviews from over 500 airports around the world, specifically the travelers’ sentiments based on stress indicator percentages.

Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Vietnam was ranked as the most stressful airport while Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport in Australia ranked second and NAIA third.

“Regarding this report that [NAIA] is the third most stressful airport in Asia and Oceania, we take this as a challenge,” Bautista said.

He noted that the report was based on data collected in May and July 2022.

“Since we have taken over the management and operations of the airport, we have introduced some reforms for the passengers to be able enjoy their travel experience in [NAIA],” he added.

Bautista said the current general manager of the Manila International Airport Authority, Cesar Chiong, is at the helm in the implementation of these changes.

One such reform is the recent announcement of the transfer of several Philippine Airlines (PAL) international flights from NAIA Terminal 2 to Terminal 1.

PAL flights that will be affected by the transfer are those coming from and going to the United States, Canada and the Middle East.

Bautista said some flights of AirAsia were transferred from Terminal 4 to Terminal 3.

He added that these particular reforms are being undertaken to decongest the flight terminals in NAIA to better distribute passenger flow across the airport.

Bautista confirmed that the Department of Transportation (DoTr) is conducting a pilot test to reduce the security checks that passengers have to go through, especially for flights to the United States.