NAIA as the Philippines

It is a long weekend again and people are trooping to NAIA for flights to home provinces or vacation spots. This means the agony people usually endure at NAIA will double or triple.

- BOO CHANCO

For starters, I don't know why we don't have real bag drop counters. You have checked-in online but in the end, it doesn't matter because the bag drop line is as long as at the check-in counters.

It isn't like in some US airports where you can drop your luggage at a counter at curbside as you get off your car. This saves the trouble of getting a trolley to load bags and push it to the check-in counters inside the terminal.

I hope this is something the San Miguel group will discuss with the domestic airlines to provide added convenience for passengers.

Then again, they have bigger problems to resolve. A few weeks ago, Terminal 3's baggage handling with its online explosive detection system finally gave up. It had been operating from the opening of T3 in 2003 and had been problematic for the last several years. In 2020, it was supposed to be replaced but as usual, wasn't. The past MIAA board in 2020 did spend P699,819,813 refurbishing the Terminal 1 baggage conveyor belt that was newly purchased in 2015. Also back in 2020, part of the ceiling in the food hall of T3 collapsed.

San Miguel, in the course of their due diligence prior to their NAIA bid, knew there was a problem with T3's baggage handling system. Only one of five units was operational. So, after winning the bid, San Miguel immediately ordered new units but it will take one year for delivery. So, July 2025 is when things will get really better. Right now, they just tried to make the system work. Ni-remedyohan lang. They also hired more people to handle the baggage requirements mano-mano.