Lost baggage, other airport gripes take thrill out of traveling

Most airport experiences don't end up as traumatic as Claudine Barretto's, but they're getting worse nearly everywhere in this age of security paranoia and traffic-snarled skies. According to the BBC, airports were once an "exciting window to the world," but now entire blogs are "dedicated to a whole array of airport gripes." BBC asked: "Has going through an airport really become so terrible it has taken the thrill out of travelling - and if so how did it happen?" "Common complaints include confusing signs, chaotic carousel crowding, rampant profiteering, having to remove shoes at security, lack of free wi-fi and lack of information on delays and cancellations," BBC said. In January this year, the travel site Frommer's cited the Philippines' Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 as one of the world's 10 worst airports. Recently, the newest and biggest NAIA complex — Terminal 3 — became the arena for a celebrity brawl featuring showbiz couple Claudine Barretto and Raymart Santiado, and tough-guy columnist Ramon Tulfo. The scuffle started when Barretto noticed Tulfo taking a photo of her as she was berating a ground crew member after their luggage was offloaded from their plane trip from Boracay. On Wednesday, Barretto and Santiago filed criminal charges against Tulfo over the scuffle. Security line woes Aside from issues about lost or offloaded baggage, BBC said security checks have become an inconvenience to many passengers. "Standing in the line at a security queue reminds me of a slaughterhouse line," said Mark Biwwa, 25, an online marketing professional from Malta, on his blog site. The Frommer's complete list of world's worst airports this year include: (1) New York JFK Airport Terminal 3 (2) Manila, Philippines Airport (Ninoy Aquino International Airport) Terminal 1 (3) Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport Terminal B/C (4) Nairobi, Kenya Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (5) Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport, Terminal 3 (6) Amman, Jordan Queen Alia Airport (7) New York LaGuardia Airport Terminal 5 (8) Terminal B at Newark Liberty International Airport (9) Paris' Beauvais Airport (10) Chicago Midway Airport In contrast, these are the 10 best airports, according to Frommer's: (1) Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) Hajj Terminal (2) Leifur Eriksson Air Terminal, Keflavik, Iceland (3) Seoul (South Korea) Incheon Airport 4. Wellington (New Zealand) “Rock” Terminal 5. New York JFK Airport Terminal 5 6. Singapore Changi International Airport Terminal 3 7. Marrakech (Morocco) Menara Airport Terminal 1 8. Madrid (Spain) Barajas Terminal 4 9. Carrasco International Airport, Montevideo, Uruguay 10. Bilbao (Spain) Airport Main Terminal NAIA-1's only redeeming quality According to the website Sleeping in Airports, NAIA Terminal 1 was the world’s worst airport terminal last in 2011 for being old and outdated. It has been criticized for being “congested, run-down and filthy, with toilets that do no work.” Passengers are also complaining of profiteering staff. "Forget about sleeping in this airport! You will not want to even close your eyes here! Bribery and theft exists. Airport taxes are collected, but the money does not seem to go towards the betterment of the airport. Document holders have been told their papers are not correct, but a fee of x amount should clear up the matter," a commenter on the Sleeping in Airports website said. Its only redeeming quality, according to Sleeping in Airports, was the free wi-fi. Meanwhile, according to the US Federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Chicago Midway is America’s worst airport for on-time departures. The “least-worst” on the list, Midway is redeemed by its new food court and a reliable subway connection to downtown Chicago. Frommer’s adds that its “curse may come more from Chicago's notoriously difficult weather than from any problem the airport itself can fix.” In France, passengers could be irked right at another airport’s misleading name—“Paris Beauvais" as it is hardly in Paris but is in the region of Picardy. Sleeping in Airports ranked it the world’s second worst airport in the world in 2011, largely because the airport closes from 11:30 p.m. to 6:30 am, and passengers looking to spend the night will be forced to camp out in the surrounding areas. Also in France is the Charles de Gaulle Airport Terminal 3, the country's largest airport and the world’s sixth busiest in terms of passenger traffic. Sleeping in Airports said Charles de Gaulle faces some serious problems about the homeless population constantly straying into the airport premises. Ranked the world’s worst airport for two consecutive years by Sleeping in Airports, Charles de Gaulle does not make an ideal place for transit passengers, as its “scattered” terminal buildings make changing planes in the airport “tiring, irritating and sometimes a little terrifying.” - with Ralph Angelo Ty/ VVP/HS, GMA News

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