The customer reviews for Manila airport are pretty bad, 5/10 to be exact. I was just wondering what everyones experience has been there. Do they search all your baggage, hassel you lots etc....? How much money can you bring into the country? Thanks.

Manila Airport Review
http://www.airlinequality.com/Airports/Airport_forum/mnl.htm

It is fine. It's small and you come out clearly to your luggage and then a short walk to the taxi line. Form up in line, go to the desk, they get you a registered taxi, insist many many times that he drops the meter.

Be a dick if you need to. Make him drop it.

You can currency exchange in a booth to the left of the exit, there are guards and police around keeping that area safe.

Wait until you go to a mall, to get a sim card. The ones at the airport do not work.

Taco wrote:

The customer reviews for Manilla airport are pretty bad, 5/10 to be exact. I was just wondering what everyones experience has been there. Do they search all your baggage, hassel you lots etc....? How much money can you bring into the country? Thanks.

Manilla Airport Review
http://www.airlinequality.com/Airports/Airport_forum/mnl.htm

I am guessing that most of the poor reviews are because the International terminal is dumpy looking with no amenities.

There are three separate terminals and it requires a car/cab to travel between them. The other two aren't that bad and one is fairly modern.

So I don't think that the hassle factor is worse than other international airports; it's just not a place you'd want to hang out.

Thanks guys, but do they search through all your bags and wallet too? Does it take a long time to get through security?

Hah, you think those reviews are bad--check out the reviews on JFK airport near where I live and there absolutely hysterical!

Quote:

--Just come back from New York, JFK. As all reviews say, I've never ever dealt with such rude staff, we queued for nearly 3 hrs to get to passport control, 2 flights arrived and 2 desks were open. They shout at people like we are a bunch of naughty school kids, these people need to be taught manners.

--JFK on the evening of 26 March at security on my way home to the UK. I was quietly packing my stuff into the plastic boxes to put on the security roller when one charming security gal yanked my holdall from the plastic box, threw it down on the roller then yelled loudly and aggressively at me 'Take it out, it don't fit'. Pure uneducated ignorance. What an impression to have tourists leave USA with.

--A disgusting experience from check-in to boarding, queued for 2 hours to check-in, 1 hour to get through security which was absolute chaos, people were missing flights through no fault of their own! Never have I seen such behaviour by airport staff, they are aggressive and extremely rude - this needs to be addressed or you will have no one wanting to visit NYC.

--Having just travelled from Manchester to JFK on an 8 hr flight, we were not happy at being met with the huge queues at immigration. It took 2 hrs of queuing to eventually get to the front, only to be sent to queue at individual kiosks. There were only 3 kiosks open to deal with the huge amount of travellers. The room was very hot and the staff were miserable.

10 of the world's most hated airports

http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/life/10-most-hated-airports-324645

Looks like JFK, LAX, and Charles De Gaulle were rated as the worst airports in the developed world!

Taco wrote:

Thanks guys, but do they search through all your bags and wallet too? Does it take a long time to get through security?

Never have had it happened to me, but then in about 10 trips back to America I have had one Customs and Border Agent, ask me one question past the check point and have never been pulled aside for inspection or x-ray.

Taco wrote:

Thanks guys, but do they search through all your bags and wallet too? Does it take a long time to get through security?

Are you talking international or local? When you arrive or departing back for the US? The only issue that ever bothered me was that things are slow. Even taking a local in-country flight and you still have to arrive a couple hours in advance.

I never saw anyones bags get manually inspected but I suppose it happens anywhere.



Last edited by davewe on Mon May 21, 2012 1:38 pm; edited 1 time in total

Well, thats good news, thanks guys.

Raja wrote:

Taco wrote:

Thanks guys, but do they search through all your bags and wallet too? Does it take a long time to get through security?

Never have had it happened to me, but then in about 10 trips back to America I have had one Customs and Border Agent, ask me one question past the check point and have never been pulled aside for inspection or x-ray.

Twice I had my carryon opened, searched and swabbed for stuff.

Yes, it's the middle aged white men with Anglo Saxon name, in suits, that they are worried about...

My understanding is that have a radiation scanner in Manila, either the U.S. kind, or one that looks inside you for a drug stash.

True?

If they do have scanners, can you opt out as in U.S. or is it mandatory and universal as in Britain?

What are you guys smoking?

The old airport in Manila is the WORST one I've ever been to. The customs are no biggie. But once you come out, hundreds of people are packed into one small waiting area far away. If they want to come closer to the exit gate to see you come out, they have to pay a fee to sit in the area closer to it. Filipinos are so greedy that they charge people waiting for passengers to come out, just so they can sit closer and be able to see them. How low class and scum-like, as usual.

No other airport charges people to wait at the exit gate like that.

So if you go there to pick someone up, it's a nightmare.

Also, one time when my parents transferred in Manila on the way to Taiwan, they were taken outside along with the other passengers, and stood outside in the airfield for an hour while waiting for their connecting flight to arrive. They were given no seats or waiting area. They said they never saw such inconsiderate treatment at any airport, ever, and would never transfer in Manila again.

The new airport in Manila is ok though, and not as crowded. So try to get your flight landing there. I think the new one is called Terminal 3 but I don't remember.


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Winston wrote:

The new airport in Manila is ok though, and not as crowded. So try to get your flight landing there. I think the new one is called Terminal 3 but I don't remember.

It's not like you have much of a choice. Terminal 1 is all international, terminal 2 is mostly Philippines airlines, and terminal 3 mostly Cebu pacific. Terminal 3 is by far the nicest and terminal one The one with the shitty reputation.

So which terminal is it to avoid? I only passed through the Manila airport twice on my way to and from BKK to Cebu. Upon landing in Manila, I was taken aback by the simplicity of the airport. It didn't look like an airport but more like a bus station. I remember having to literally run for almost 500m to get to my gate for my connecting flight to Cebu. Once there, it was packed, people standing almost wall to wall, no AC, so total chaos. Thankfully I only had to wait less than 50 minutes for the flight otherwise I would have gone mad. On the way back from Cebu to Manila to connect to my international flight to BKK, it was a lot nicer, had plenty of room for me to sit for a couple of hours for my connecting flight.

But one thing for sure, I'm never connecting through the US, what a fascist country with the most rudest, ignorant immigration officers and staff. I gladly pay more for my flight to avoid going through that shit hole called the US. Nothing against the people but the arrogance, ignorance and rudness of the staff there is 2nd to none in the entire world.

Jacaré wrote:

So which terminal is it to avoid? I only passed through the Manila airport twice on my way to and from BKK to Cebu. Upon landing in Manila, I was taken aback by the simplicity of the airport. It didn't look like an airport but more like a bus station. I remember having to literally run for almost 500m to get to my gate for my connecting flight to Cebu. Once there, it was packed, people standing almost wall to wall, no AC, so total chaos. Thankfully I only had to wait less than 50 minutes for the flight otherwise I would have gone mad. On the way back from Cebu to Manila to connect to my international flight to BKK, it was a lot nicer, had plenty of room for me to sit for a couple of hours for my connecting flight.

But one thing for sure, I'm never connecting through the US, what a fascist country with the most rudest, ignorant immigration officers and staff. I gladly pay more for my flight to avoid going through that shit hole called the US. Nothing against the people but the arrogance, ignorance and rudness of the staff there is 2nd to none in the entire world.

Read my previous post. Your options are limited. You will have to use the terminal associated with your airline. Terminal 1 is the older terminal, international flights. It's dingy and has no modern amenities. The other two terminals are not that bad and Terminal 3 is modern and pretty comfortable. Go to the airport website and you can find details about which airlines use which terminals.