NAIA T3 is the world's worst airport
Here I am with my family, waiting to board a flight to Sydney -- and I’m reminded of just how bad NAIA T3 really is.
The Heat
The whole place is packed to the brim with travelers, and it’s hellishly hot. Not just the annoying kind of hot, but the ridiculous, humid, and sticky kind of hot. It feels like being a sardine in a sauna. I honestly thought this would be one of the first things SMC’s takeover would fix.
The Seating (or Lack Thereof)
There are barely any seats unless you’re cool with rubbing elbows with sweaty strangers. Sure, there are paid lounges -- but with the tiny real estate allocated for them -- they’re almost always full. If you’re traveling solo, you might luck out and snag a spot, but no dice if you’re with a group like us.
The Food Choices
There’s also barely any decent food options to make the wait bearable. Most stalls in T3 are pasalubong shops -- and yeah, some sell short orders and snacks, but if you’re craving a real meal or a solid cup of coffee, you’re out of luck. Even worse, the few spots with okay seating are just as packed as everywhere else.
A Glimmer of Hope?
After sweating it out for hours, I couldn’t help but compare this mess to our last international trip from Clark International Airport earlier this year. But before I get into that, I’ll admit one small win for NAIA T3: the check-in process seems smoother than the last time I was here, especially if you arrive early. The number of bag drop desks scaled pretty well with demand from what we’ve seen (checking into Qantas), and the immigration and security check queues were decent and well-managed. Still, these tiny improvements don’t make up for the overall hassle.
In Comparison to Clark International Airport
It’s no contest -- Clark wins hands down. For starters, Clark is more recently built and feels a lot more modern. The place is spacious, well laid out, and the air conditioning is what you’d expect in a hot, humid country. The food and dining options there aren’t exactly world-class for an international terminal, but with plenty of seating around, that’s just a minor gripe. Honestly, being there with my family felt like a breeze compared to this chaos at T3.
Tips from a Frustrated Traveler
After dragging ourselves through this sauna of an airport, I’ve picked up a few tricks to make the wait a bit more bearable for me and my family. Hope these help if you’re stuck here too:
- Look for Fly Cafe at the far end of airside. We stumbled on it after hours of misery, and its air conditioning is solid. They’ve got decent beverages like coffee and matcha. Plus, if you’re traveling with a kid like I am, they have soft-serve and a small play area out front that was a lifesaver.
- The farther you are from the security check, the better the ambiance tends to be -- less crowd, less heat. The restrooms will actually be (and smell) better too, which was a relief after the chaos near the gates.
- The terminal Wi-Fi is trash. Don’t even bother -- use mobile data if you can.