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Category Archives: Airports
On airport congestion again
I have been traveling a lot the past months and most of these trips require air travel. We’ve experienced quite a number of delays including waiting for about an hour inside an airplane. That happened after boarding and being informed by the pilot that they have been instructed by Manila air traffic control to standby where we were. Where we were was one of the major cities in Mindanao so that meant instant delay to our travel. Other times, we were on time; leaving around the original ETD and landing around the original ETA. To be fair, my most recent flights were quite okay with our plane landing 15-20 minutes ahead of the ETA. This recent variation in the travel times show that congestion is not necessarily a big a problem as it was months ago or even a year or so ago. Perhaps there have already been adjustments, for example, in airlines’ juggling their fleets to reduce turnaround times. Air traffic control may also have been optimized for various airports. This challenge to reduce airport congestion both on the ground and in flight is a continuing effort by airports and is not limited to Manila.
Aircraft queuing for take-off at Changi Airport in Singapore
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On the NAIA Terminal 3 overnight parking fees again
I’ve received a lot of views and inquiries about the parking rates at the NAIA Terminal 3. There seems to be a lot of people wanting to know about the rates and ideas about how much they might be paying if they chose to leave their vehicles while on trip abroad or within the Philippines. There are a few articles I’ve written about them and even posted some example parking receipts. We also have had someone from NAIA parking explaining how fees are computed (scroll through the comments sections of my posts, its there somewhere). In the interest of many travelers still inquiring about this topic and to have a recent example, I am posting a receipt from a very recent trip when I parked my vehicle at the multilevel parking facility of T3:
If you break down the total amount paid, 600 pesos went to the 2 overnights that I assumed to cover 48 hours of the total 56 hours and 3 minutes logged for the parked vehicle. The regular fee of 135 pesos covered the remaining 8 hours and 3 minutes. If the basic rate was 35 pesos for the first 3 hours and 20 pesos per succeeding hour, then that practically translates to the 135 pesos. I hope this helps my readers!
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Mactan Cebu International Airport – newly opened lobby area at Terminal 1
Arriving in Cebu, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the airport’s Terminal 1 has a new lobby that is now open to the public. Here are photos taken during our recent trip to Cebu last month.
View of the newly opened lobby from the baggage claim area
Passengers and well-wishers (mostly people waiting to fetch arriving passengers) at the MCIA’s new lobby
This is the arrival level and one can use the escalators or the stairs to get to the departure level
Escalators at the MCIA’s new lobby
The corridor to the transport terminal is unfinished but the path is spacious enough as shown in the photo.
This is the area closer to the older exit from the arrival area of Terminal 1, which is actually closer to the transport terminal.
A preview of a much more spacious area where a driveway used to be
I made sure to take more photos of the lobby upon our departure from Cebu. Here are those photos:
Workers walking along the newly completed pathways at the ground transport interphase for the departure area of the airport’s Terminal 1.
A familiar scene: passengers saying their farewells to relatives at the airport terminal
Carts neatly placed for use by travellers
Information signs and columns are sleek and modern. These show the way to the check-in counters.
A very spacious departure level lobby
View towards the escalators to the arrival area, which is one level down from the departure area
Shakey’s seem to be one of the first to establish a branch at the newly refurbished Terminal 1.
Corridor to the terminal’s domestic flight check-in counters
Newly installed information board showing scheduled departures and their status
More about Cebu’s airport soon!
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Sri Lanka Airport Arrival – Bandaranaike International Airport
The Bandaranaike International Airport reminded me of the larger airports in the Philippines. At least that was my first impression of this main gateway for Sri Lanka upon our arrival. Here are photos I took upon our arrival at Colombo last September.
We deplaned away from the international terminal where a bus was waiting for us.
Other passengers deplaned from the rear door and another bus was waiting for them.
The bus was not airconditioned so we had our first taste of the Sri Lankan climate. Coming from a tropical country though, it was okay for us.
Passengers deplaning had to stop on the stairs as our bus was full and they had to wait for the next one.
Other aircraft on the tarmac of the airport
The air traffic control tower as seen from a distance
Upon disembarking from our buses, passengers ascend towards the immigration section
It took us a while to clear immigration as there were few officers assigned to foreigners that time. Upon clearing immigration, we walked towards the baggage reclaim area only to be greeted by this sight.
On one side were shops selling mostly liquor and cigarettes and on the other were shops selling appliances and other electronics. I didn’t expect to see so many selling items like TVs, refrigerators and washing machines. And then we thought these were quite similar to the set-up of duty free shops in Manila during the 1970s to the 1990s when many if not most arrivals were either balikbayan (vacationing from the US, Canada or Europe) or Overseas Foreign Workers who were on a break or between contracts. We observed similar situations at Bandaranaike as many Sri Lankans arriving appeared to be OFWs.
We descended towards the baggage reclaim area, which turned out to be an expansive area.
There were few passengers so that added to the feeling of space.
The airport had many conveyor belts
It took us a while to get to our conveyor belt. Along the way, I took this photo of the customs channels. The green was for travellers with nothing to declare. The red was for those with taxable items.
Passengers positioned themselves around the conveyor belt
Passengers waiting for their luggage
Upon getting our luggage, we proceeded towards the terminal exit. The way was lined with currency exchange stalls, hotels booths and tourist travel booths.
Currency exchange and tourist services
The path towards the terminal exit is lined with tourist agencies offering various services and packages.
Passengers are greeted by those picking them up (including hotel transportation) and those offering transport services to various destinations.
There were many empty stalls intended for duty free shops at the terminal. Perhaps these will be occupied once the airport complex is completed and there is an increase in flights at Bandaranaike.
Passengers waiting for their rides upon exiting the terminal
One of the driveways at the arrivals area. This was for private vehicles picking up arriving passengers. We crossed this to get to the driveway where our Uber car was waiting for us.
A friend engaging our Uber driver – it wasn’t difficult to make conversation as most Sri Lankans could speak English; one of the legacies of being under British rule for a long time.
View of the airport driveway
Familiar scene of a buddhist image – we thought this was similar to scenes in Thailand
More photos from our trip to Sri Lanka soon!
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Changi Jewel and transit
The trip to Sri Lanka afforded me some hours at Singapore’s Changi Airport. En route to Colombo, we made sure to go around the complex and check out one of the attractions of the top airport in the world. Changi’s Jewel is very impressive and can make you forgot you were actually inside an airport terminal. Here are some photos taken as we trekked to the Jewel via Terminal 2 and 3.
Visitors have the option of walking by themselves or using the moving walkway whenever these were available.
The automated guideway transit (AGT) system of Changi allow you to transfer from one terminal to another with the exception of Terminal 4.
I took this photo of the guideway and the AGT as reference for my lectures
Another view of the corridor connecting Terminal 3 to the Jewel
Directional sign to the Jewel
Changi’s air traffic control tower
The main attraction is this gigantic waterfall located at a man-made complex that’s designed to imitate conditions at a rainforest.
Changi AGT slow down for passengers to have a good close view of the Jewel
All the water used is recycled and one can get mesmerised by the vortex where all the water falls and seem to be sucked into.
Here’s another look at the Jewel and the airport AGT
There is a mall with shops, restaurants and cafes around the Jewel.
Another photo of the AGT guideway above the road system at Changi
Taxis queued along airport roads
More guideways
A look back at the way from the Jewel
More photos of Changi soon!
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NAIA Terminal 3 departure 2019
My recent travel to Sri Lanka allowed me to take photos at 3 airports – NAIA, Changi and Bandaranaike. For NAIA, I used Terminal 3. For Changi, I had the opportunity to take photos at Terminals 2, 3 and 4. And Bandaranaike was my new airport for 2019. Here are photos I took at the departure area of NAIA Terminal 3. There were a few new items here from my last overseas trip using this terminal (I traveled onboard Emirates last year to and from Europe).
Directional signs greet you as you clear immigration
Shops at Terminal 3
Long corridor leading to the boarding gates is lined with shops at either side
Local cafe at the departure area
Chocolates for sale
I was very happy to see that the best of Philippine chocolates are being sold at the duty free shop. These include Malagos (the Davao brand, which I think is the top quality chocolate in the country), Auro (also from Davao and with high quality comparable to Malagos), and Theo & Philo (another good quality chocolate). At the bottom of the shelf are high quality liquor.
Close-up of the selection of Auto chocolates.
At the other side of the shelf are boxes of chocolate-covered dried fruit. For me, the chocolate-covered mangoes are the top picks.
Souvenir shop specialising in local delicacies from different regions of the country.
It was the first time I saw this cafe at the T3 departure area
There are also the familiar and reliable restaurants like Kenny Rogers’
Starbucks for those who prefer their drinks and food. Don’t get me wrong. I also patronise their drinks and food and they are a sure thing compared to other brands you are not familiar with.
Bo’s Coffee might be preferable to many Filipinos. This is another brand that originated in Davao.
We were amused by this somewhat novel product – portable bidet
This is the second airport where I’ve seen WHSmith. The other is Mactan Cebu International Airport.
Another local cafe at the terminal
Children’s play area and infant feeding section at the terminal
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Another look at the Francisco Bangoy (Davao) International Airport – Departure Part 2
This is the last part of the feature on the Davao International Airport. Here are the last batch of photos I took of the airport departure areas.
Spacious departure level containing the airline check-in counters
Passengers wait for their check-in times and counter for travel tax payments
Passengers with their luggage filing into the terminal
View of the airline check-in counters from the escalator
Another view of the airline check-in counters and the departure area. This photo also shows the shops at the second level.
View of the terminal entrance from the escalator
Another view of the ground floor area showing the airline counters and the escalators and stairs to the departure level lounges
After clearing the final security check, passengers pass through this corridor towards the departure lounge and boarding gates
Passengers waiting for their boarding calls.
Coming up soon are photos of Changi (Singapore) and Bandaranaike (Sri Lanka) airports. I haven’t been to Singapore in 7 years and it was my first time to go to Sri Lanka so I made sure to take a lot of photos at those airports.
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Another look at the Francisco Bangoy (Davao) International Airport – Departure Part 1
To continue on the series on Davao’s international airport, here are a few photos on the airport upon our departure last week.
Taxi stand at the airport There are two lanes here along which taxis are queued to pick-up passengers. The other two lanes to the right in the photo are for dropping-off passengers.
Passengers walking towards the terminal. Those with lots of luggage may avail of the porter services. The porter assists you until the check-in process.
Driveway for private vehicles and VIPs
Typical scene right after the first security check at the airport
I will be completing this series with another post on this airport soon. Meanwhile, I am preparing for a trip to Sri Lanka via Singapore. That means more photos of airports. I have not been to Singapore in a while. The last one was in 2012 when Changi still had a budget terminal (terminal for low-cost carriers like Cebu Pacific and Tiger Airways) and I have not been to Sri Lanka at all. And so I am looking forward to there travels and will be sharing the experiences through photos and some narratives in future posts.
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Another look at the Francisco Bangoy (Davao) International Airport – Arrival Part 2
This is a continuation of the post on the Davao International Airport. I made sure to take photos upon our arrival as I haven’t been to Davao in a while. So here’s a second set of photos on the airport.
Upon exiting the terminal, one is greeted by a spacious are with covered walkway towards the taxi stand and the parking area.
A view of the sidewalk and path to the departure wing of the terminal. Note the signs indicating the airline offices nearby.
Crossing to the taxi stands and pick-up areas
A look back to the terminal building
Driveway for private vehicles picking-up or dropping-off passengers at the terminal
Taxi stands at the terminal. These are taxis picking-up passengers.
Queue at the taxi stand
The taxis on the other lanes are those dropping-off passengers at the terminal. There are two lanes each for taxis dropping-off or picking-up passengers.
Passengers are given by airport security personnel a small sheet of paper where the information on the taxis are written. These are for future reference or use in case there is an issue or concern such as things left on the taxis.
Taxi bearing a sticker of Hirna, a popular taxi hailing app in Davao. This homegrown company gives good competition to the industry leader Grab. I thought that we probably need more of these than Grab Cars.
I have always admired taxi operations in Davao. My experience there since my first time to visit the city is that it was easy to get a taxi and their drivers generally follow rules and regulations. The system in Davao seems to be effective in encouraging drivers to be honest and obedient to traffic rules and regulations.
More on the Davao International Airport soon!
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Another look at the Francisco Bangoy (Davao) International Airport – Arrival Part 1
I have not been to Davao for some time now. I think the last time was over 6 years ago at a time when there was still no inkling of its mayor becoming the Philippine President. In fact, that was the time he was Vice Mayor to his daughter who was mayor the last time I was in the city. And so I was curious how it was in the city where certainly the popularity of the First Family should be at the highest in the land. Note that aside from the President, the first daughter is again Mayor, a son is Vice Mayor and another son is Congressman. But no worries for the DDS among my readers, I will not talk about politics in this post. I will just be sharing photos of the airport and some commentaries here and there.
View of the airport terminal as we deplaned
A look back at the Airbus 330 jet that brought us to Davao
Passengers walking towards the baggage claim area, which is on the ground floor of the terminal
Passengers using either the escalator or the stairs to the baggage claim area
Passengers walking towards the baggage claim area pass by an area where sometimes quarantine is performed and people step on a mat that’s treated vs. foot and mouth disease (FMD).
Porters line up to welcome arriving passengers and offer their assistance
Information desk at the arrival area
Baggage carousels – there were only two for domestic flights
We arrived in time for the last days of the city’s Kadayawan Festival
Passengers surround the carousel to await their checked-in luggage
There is a screen informing passengers that their baggage are being unloaded. I thought it would have been helpful if Philippine airports provide more details like how its done in other countries. In the latter, they usually announce when the first and last bags are on the carousel for specific flights.
Policemen performing musical numbers at the airport terminal is a pleasing sight and sound and is certainly an effective P.R. initiative for the PNP and the city.
Another look at the still crowded carousel area. It took a while for our luggage to come out.
Hotel desk at the terminal for those inquiring about accommodations or perhaps their airport transfer services.
Another Kadayawan photo op feature at the terminal
Another look at the hotels’ desk at the terminal just before the exit
I took a lot of photos at the airport so I will be sharing these in several posts. More photos soon!
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Caught (up) in traffic 