NAIA Terminal 3 – From mothballed to blackballed?

Why the rush to open when clearly this airport terminal is still in a state of flux?

Defeated TU senatorial candidate Michael Defensor said he is waiting for his next assignment after his brief stint as the head of the NAIA 3 task force. Yes, the mothballed terminal that has been embroiled (and still is) in controversial court and international arbitration proceedings has opened its doors to local travelers. So far, what we have been hearing about are complaints from the tired and the weary – tired from all the waiting and weary of press commentary explaining all the systems flaws as “birth pangs”.

I strongly suggest that the NAIA 3 administrators and DOTC hold off from any further moves to open the tarmac to international flights. Mothballed is better than blackballed by the jet-setters of this world for having an unsafe and inferior international airport.

Once you open an airport to international flights, it becomes an emblem of a nation in search of modernity and progress. Opening an airport only to have to shut it down due to systems troubles and unsafe infrastructure can only be the act of self-flagellation.

If airport officials can’t even update the flight terminal screen that passengers look up to while waiting for their flights, why the rush to draw in more passengers than it can obviously serve?

The SONA is over. Reality has set in. Fix the airport and make it work the way it should.