What's new, NAIA?

SINGKIT - There was such an outcry when the new parking rates at the NAIA were announced ahead of its implementation last Oct. 1 - from P40 for the first two hours and P15 for every hour thereafter to P50/P25 and for overnight parking from P300 to P1,200.

- DOREEN G. YU

No amount of explanation from the NNIC (New NAIA Infrastructure Corp. which took over airport operations last Sept. 14) could convince critics of the justification for the increase. By the way, the last rate adjustment was made back in 2000.

In our residents' Viber group there were long back-and-forths among the pro's and anti's - there were a lot more of the latter - with accusations of elitism, discrimination, unmitigated greed, profit before service, convenience vs. hassle, of poor planning as in the new LRT station being too far away from the airport... on and on and on.

Just imagine the outcry when terminal fees are increased - reported to be from P200 to P550 for domestic flights and P550 to P950 for international flights - scheduled for September next year (OFWs will still be exempt). The only unanimous sentiment is that the NAIA is a crappy airport. From terminal facilities that ordinary travelers see and experience - comfort rooms, air conditioning, escalators, baggage carousels, etc. - to the behind-the-scenes technical aspects to the infrastructure, there's no arguing that NAIA needs to be fixed.

By Oct. 2, when photos of near empty parking areas started appearing on social media with comments like “Ang dali mag parking!” the bashers fell silent; at least on this issue of parking rates. The overnight non-NAIA parkers were gone; then there was the discovery of cars that have been parked there for years, since 2014 even, the speculation being that these are probably casino-related vehicles, meaning cars given as collateral for gambling loans and never redeemed.