Two
Serious Issues on Air Travel:
Antiquated
Radar System and
Terminal
Fee
By Apolinario Villalobos
As is always with the inefficient system of
the government, the problem on the antiquated radar system of the airport has
been brought forth because of the concerns on landings and take off, lately.
The airport authority admitted the fact that their equipment is outdated. This
poses a big problem because of the current situation of the Manila airport due
to its lone runway, resulting to heavy traffic for the incoming and departing
flights. This is the reason why most often, flights out of Manila are always
delayed, as incoming flights are given the priority for their landing resulting
to the long queue of aircraft waiting for their turn to use the lone runway for
take-off.
This is the problem with the government’s
lack of coordination. Its Department of Tourism is energetically promoting
inbound travel and travel among the locals around the country, but the aspect
on convenient travel is not given attention. The leadership of the agency
concerned also lacks the energy to pursue their needs. They are not assertive
to let those people in the Senate and Congress – those concerned with the
budget, that their service is practically at the edge of becoming inefficient,
or better, useless. So many airport terminals in the country are dilapidated.
Even the four terminals in Manila are in sorry state. The NAIA 1 stinks and
humid, the NAIA 3 has falling ceilings and leaking pipes. As a cover-up, the
MIAA came up with a brand for their service – “service with a smile”. The guy
from the MIAA who appeared on TV was also wearing a big smile, as if, the
concocted brand name is already a big deal – a big accomplishment! If the guy
reflects the kind of people running the airports, then, the country has a big
problem. What the airport needs is a
reasonable budget so that the antique radar system can be improved to be at par
with the demand for efficient operation, period!
Manila
pales in comparison even with Kuala Lumpur when it comes to this aspect of
travel. A television series on travel showed the hi-tech facilities of Malaysia
airport, which includes even a train connected with the airport terminal for
the convenience of arriving and departing passengers! And, to think that the
Philippines is way ahead of Malaysia in becoming an independent country!
As if the travails of the dilapidated
airport terminals are not enough, here comes the issue on the integration of
the terminal fee in the purchase of the tickets. Again, the lack of sound
analysis of government “intellectuals”, the so-called bright people of the
President, surfaces. They seem to have forgotten the problem that such
integration gave insurmountable problems to the air travel industry in the past, that
is why, it was discontinued. Obviously, they are not aware of how tickets are
processed and the circumstances that surround these travel documents
afterwards.
The integration of terminal fee in the
purchased airline ticket will add corners to the process of ticket issuance, to
the detriment of the all parties, especially the passengers, because:
-if an airline ticket is issued by an
authorized travel agent, the remittance will become complicated, as the inefficient
Department of Tourism will be added as another party to the transaction;
-if the ticket is issued by the airline
concerned, the same complication will be involved;
-if the purchased airline ticket is not
used, but intended for refund, instead, the process will become more
complicated, due to the inclusion of the inefficient Department of Tourism;
-the man-hour and manpower involved are
bloated, as close liaising with the Department of Tourism regarding all airline
ticket transactions becomes part of the process.
Considering all the mentioned red tapes,
the owner of the ticket suffers at the end. Not all tickets issued are owned by
locals. Some tickets are issued on the spot to foreign tourists who decide
sometimes to travel to destinations that catch their fancy while traveling
around the country. If due to inclement weather, they failed to use the
ticket/s, they will surely have to have them refunded. Will they extend their
stay in the Philippines just to go through the refund process – considering
still the proven inefficiency of the Department of Tourism? Compared to the current standard procedure
in which unused ticket can be refunded by the travel agent or the airline
concerned, the proposed integration system will definitely spell disaster to
the tourism industry!
The problem with the “bright people” in the
government, lawmakers included, is that they are blubbers! In an effort to
catch the limelight, for self-glorification via the media, they just talk and
talk without even thinking with reason! What
the airports need is an efficient system to accommodate the influx of outbound
passengers paying terminal fee, by opening the counters much earlier so that
passengers will be more encouraged to check in, and deploy staff to match the
influx. The problem is the long queue of passengers due to the late opening of
the counters for terminal fee!
These
“bright” government people should take a closer look at the real and glaring
state of the tourism industry with towns and cities shamelessly suffering from
dilapidated airport terminals, runways pockmarked with holes, closed airports
due to purportedly lack of budget, absence of convenient lodging facilities,
sorry state of roads leading to their provinces, and many other urgent concerns
to which budgets are supposed to find their way, instead of letting the
government moneys left at the mercy of the “kawatans” – government robbers clad
in barong tagalog in the Senate, Congress, and Malacaῆan who discourse about “ghost projects” –
with all “honesty” and “legal fluency”!
If these government people are really
concerned about the promotion of convenient travel and tourism in general, they
should not threaten the already suffering air travel and tourism industry with
such inutile and nonsensical idea, that can only come from a pea-brain!
