Add two more pests to the list of problems bugging travelers passing through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
In a span of two days last week, it was learned that some travelers waiting for their flights at NAIA terminals 2 and 3 have been bitten by bedbugs, later a rat was caught on video roaming at terminal 3.
The image of the huge rodent scurrying around lighting fixtures went viral locally and internationally in a 3-minute loop.
The video was taken at around 1:00 am last March 1 (Manila time) by a user who calls himself Curve251.
Two days before, two passengers complained of being bitten by bedbugs while seated at the terminals’ rattan chairs while waiting for their flights.
The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) removed the rattan chairs and did a general cleaning of the terminals.
MIAA General Manager Eric Ines issued a public apology for the embarrassing incident, after which he directed that enhanced sanitary measures be undertaken to address the apparent bedbug infestation.
The identities of the two victims were not released to media.
Sen. Grace Poe, chair of the Senate committee on Public Services, sought to downplay the NAIA infestation by saying “that’s an issue in other countries as well.”
“In France,” said Poe, “train stations and some hotel rooms are affected.”
The senator added that “cleaning and disinfecting should be standard operating procedure, not just during virus outbreak or infestation.”
The country’s premiere airport has faced numerous problems in the past year, with a power outage at the height of the holiday season causing flights to be cancelled or reset.
It was learned at that time that the airport did not have a backup power source.
In yet another incident, part of the ceiling of one of the terminals collapsed, although no injury was reported.
Year after year, the NAIA has been on the list of the world’s worst airports. Worst of all, incidents where Customs agents were seen “escorting” VIP passengers to private planes became commonplace.
In one case, a female Customs officer was seen chewing on foreign currency that she was seen to have taken from the baggage of a departing passenger.
On the plus side, the seeming mismanagement of the NAIA is expected to soon come to an end after a subsidiary of the San Miguel Corporation (SMC) won the bid to manage the airport later this year.
SMC President and CEO Ramon Ang told local media he was “excited” to tackle the problems nagging the NAIA in recent years.
Regarding the bedbug problem, Ang told local media, “We will change all the seats immediately this September with brand new stainless steel seats.”
The NAIA is expected to remain the country’s main gateway for a few more years, even as SMC is also building a bigger airport in Bulacan province. Once completed, that airport is envisioned to replace NAIA as the country’s biggest airport.
The current site of the NAIA may be sold to developers who will likely convert it into a mixed-use property, similar to how the former military base that was Fort Bonifacio has been turned into a world-class business district.
It is also not clear if the name will be used by the new airport. There have also been proposals in Congress to rename NAIA into the Ferdinand Marcos International Airport but this has not met with widespread support. Formerly known as the Manila International Airport, it was later renamed NAIA after former senator Benigno Aquino Jr. was assassinated at its tarmac after returning from the US, where he had spent a few years in exile.
