I took a few photos near the check-in counters at NAIA Terminal 2 as I myself checked-in for a flight to Bangkok. There was less confusion now compared to the last time I used PAL for an international flight and their ground staff were relatively unexperienced. This was the result of PAL rationalizing their workforce and opting for outsourcing ground services prior to San Miguel’s takeover of the financially-challenged full service airline. During the transition period, queues were longer as service times at the check-in counters were longer. Ground staff took some time to process each passenger as perhaps they had little training (if any) and thrust into the real work provided an initial shock that translated into slower services.

Passengers checking-in at NAIA T2. There are no internet check-in booths (for those who already checked-in online and would just drop-off their luggage) or automated check-in machines at Terminal 2. PAL needs to work on these services for more efficient services at the terminal.

A single queue with multiple servers means more orderly services for passengers. This is actually something that Philippines immigration should implement in all airports whether for departing or arriving passengers. I don’t get it why for departures, immigration can implement this simple system resulting in more efficient processing for travelers while the same cannot be implemented for arrivals.

Passengers lining up to pay terminal fees. NAIA is one of very few terminals still charging terminal fees. Elsewhere, these fees (if any) are already integrated into the plane fares and so passengers don’t need to queue and spend time for another transaction.

Travelers fill out immigration cards before lining up for the immigration counters. There are still many who seem oblivious to this requirement. While some are really the hard-headed type who end up stalling the queue, these people can easily be filtered by immigration or airport staff managing the queues.

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