AWFUL: Connecting In Manila On Philippine Airlines

Yes! What a dump. So sad- the Philippines Airlines experience onboard was really nice- crew were lovely, food was excellent. Hard product not great,but still a very nice experience. But then Terminal 1 at MNL. Woof! I have never seen anything like it at a carrier's hub. There weren't even boards that displayed flight information. You had to ask staff which gate to go to. The smell was somewhere between armpit and vomit. The lounges were pitifully small and overcrowded. I really hope PR ups its game as it could be a really nice option to south asia and the pacific, buy I will never use T1 at MNL again in its current condition.

China airports are quite known as the WORST in the world for extreme delays and cancellations period and I've travelled a lot. Had 3 cancellations there so I try NOT to stopover anywhere in China. toMost bathrooms are complete garbage and stink. As for Philippiness, heading there for business so we'll see... Going on a personal vacation after to Boracay or Siargao (Travel & Leisure rated Philippines as #1 best islands in the world consecutively so I am curious). Personally, I would not travel anywhere in Asia right now especially CHINA dominant population , the epicenter of the virus period. I'll wait and see.

Sangley international airport to break ground in Q2 (from two days ago)
https://www.bworldonline.com/sangley-international-airport-to-break-ground-in-q2/

"The province of Cavite is targeting to break ground with its joint venture partner for the first phase of the $10-billion Sangley Point International Airport (SPIA) project in the second quarter.

Phase 1 will involve the construction of the airport’s first runway, which can accommodate 25 million passengers yearly, helping to decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.

The Cavite provincial government targets the airport to start fully operating by 2023, with partial operations to start a year earlier. The fourth runway will be opened after six years."

New airport in Manila will be in place within five years. This airport will most likely get built since the Philippines President wants this project to happen for his legacy.

Plus there is a lot of money to be made from the land the current airport uses that will be freed up.

Lots of interesting comments in here. My wife and I just got back from the Philippines which included time in MNL on 3 separate occasions and while I was prepared for the worst after reading tons of horror stories, I didn’t find it remarkably worse than some other developing world international airports I’ve been to.

Arriving to the country in T3 we waited in immigration maybe 30 min. Would have been less if we hustled to beat the rest of the people on my flight. Immigration agent was practically mute, whatever, no issues. Went to the Globe counter at arrivals, got a sim, called a grab to the hotel, had to go back inside arrivals to get upstairs to departures where the grab would pick us up, they needed to scan our bags to get back inside — no biggie. Hopped in the grab, off we went, perfectly fine Uber/Lyftesque experience.

Next day — took a grab to T4 for our flight to El Nido on AirSwift. The grab, like the half a dozen or so other ones we had taken over the past day, was safe, cheap, and courteous. This terminal is much smaller and less organized, but still not that crazy IMO. Note that they wanted to see ticket printouts at the door at the curb — I’ve seen this in various countries, particularly where security (or “threat level”) is more of a concern like DEL or CAI etc. We’ve gotten accustomed to carrying a printouts of our tickets for each leg of a trip just in case. Lady at the checkin counter let me off for being a kilo over on my carryon bag, which was nice. No issues in security, everyone was kind and professional. Food options in the gate area were limited but serviceable. Hopped on the flight without issue.

Now for the grand finale — returning from Coron (which is a downtrodden small and lightly secured airport) to MNL T4 and then transferring to T3 for our flight home. Arrived at T4, collected our checked bags (they had a closed circuit tv over the carousel showing you the guys unloading, which I’ve actually never seen before). Asked the cop at the exit door where the inter terminal bus to T3 was, she pointed us across the street and about 30 yards down the way. Waited maybe 15 minutes and a white air conditioned bus pulled up, we confirmed with the driver that he was going to T3, everyone on board paid 20pesos (~$0.40) a head, took us about 10 minutes to get to T3. Had to have our bags screened to get inside like the other day. Grabbed some jolly bee, checked our bag, went through security without issue, and hung out in the PAGSS lounge until shortly before takeoff which was on time.

At no point did anyone shake us down, act rude to us, or give us incorrect instructions/advice — and we’re two white Americans. Is it possible we encountered the perfect possible storm of staff, traffic, and passenger congestion conditions? Sure. Sometimes being prepared and relaxed can go a long way towards your sanity though. I blocked a ~5hr layover to account for the worst and only needed maybe 1 when it was all said and done.

Hopefully this anecdote might give some of you some peace of mind if you’re coming to MNL in the future that it’s not ALL doom and gloom.

I had to transit from PAL Domestic to Singapore Airlines International in MNL, ie. inter-terminal. I read up ahead of time, and did the smart thing of booking a car to pick me up to commute from one terminal to the next after going landside, instead of risking the (I’m told, sometimes non-existent, regularly irregular) shuttle bus. (Since I wasn’t connecting to a PAL flight, I couldn’t use the PAL shuttle service.) I breezed through immigration as I had an APEC card, so I have to say my whole experience wasn’t as much of a nightmare as yours sounds. It did cost me some money to have to book a car for the commute, but I’d say it was every penny well spent!

On a separate note, PAL Domestic out of MNL apparently experiences regular delays of at least an hour (mine last year from MNL to CEB was 2.5!), so if you ever had to fly out of MNL to another Philippines city with a connection awaiting, I say plan with a 2-3-hour delay in mind!

Indeed, it’s more fun in the Philippines!

I didn't read all the comments, but just want to say to those claiming transiting in the US is worse: you do not know MNL.

I had a couple of transits in MNL a few years ago, but I did my homework and decided not to transit on the same day. I arrived from Palau in Terminal 1 on UA one night, and flew out on a domestic flight out of Terminal 3 on Cebu Pacific the next morning. The traffic, as I found out, was horrible going to hotel and from hotel to terminal, despite I picked a hotel on the Terminal 1 side (Conrad) and the morning traffic the next morning was a bit better. I can't imagine how much time it would take if I had to go from Terminal 1 to 3 on the same day! On return, I flew into Terminal 3 (on Cebu Pacific domestic) and flew out of Terminal 3 the next morning on CX. I did stay at one of those casino hotel (Marriott) just across from Terminal 3 (maybe 1000 feet away); however, the skybridge wasn't open yet back then, so I had to take a shuttle. A "short" ride took 30+ minutes, unbelievable!

So you actually didn't do a sterile transfer, Lucky.

This is exactly what happened to me the first time I took TPE-YYZ via MNL. They wave you through out into the arrivals hall where you have to squeeze on a transfer bus and re-enter via T1. That's why your bags were screened so much.

That desk where they photocopy your passport has a door next to it which opens up into a sterile transfer lounge. From there you take a bus and don't need to clear customs again in T1 (I actually warned about this in a previous post).

But the fact that no one could properly explain this to you in a country with a very high degree of spoken English is emblematic of the generally chaotic state of affairs in the Philippines.

Ben, I apologize for not posting my experience transiting MNL Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 in late January, 2020, LAX-MNL-SGN (MNL T1 to T2) and return (T2 with no need to change terminals), all in Business class. On the outbound, I had read all the horror stories and searched for the latest info on TripAdvisor, where a recent poster stated that he did not have to go through immigration, because he was transferring from an intl flight to an intl flight, as was I. I asked EVERYONE (flight attendants, LAX check-in agents, etc.) if I had to go through immigration...and all assured me that I did NOT, but only if I WENT DIRECTLY FROM THE PLANE TO THE PAL TRANSFER DESK (maybe 100 feet from the plane's door), which I did. There, luggage through the x-ray machine, a PAL employee walked me and a couple others to the next, far away point, where I entered a waiting area for the airside shuttle. After xeroxing my boarding passes and passport, the agents told us to be seated in the waiting area. The bus arrived in maybe 20 minutes, and all 25 of us were off to the plane for SGN. Be sure to get ALL your boarding passes at the original DEPARTURE checkin (LAX for me), because without the second boarding pass, I would have had to go through immigration. As it was, the whole process took about 1 hour but was not complicated or unpleasant. Upon arrival at T2 for the flight to SGN, we had to put the luggage through security machines for a second time on entering the terminal.

I hope this information may help others, also.

No Philippine entry or exit stamp was put in my passport, in either direction.

You survived a good day at NAIA, Lucky. I purposely built in an overnight stay at the Belmont Hotel right next to T3 knowing they provided shuttles to all NAIA terminals. I had flown in from a Cebu Pacific domestic leg into MNL and then was flying JL the following morning in T1, and gave myself a lot of time, having known that NAIA is bound to disappoint, period, when it comes to Manila and one would rather be safe than sorry. Because I knew that I didn’t want to be rushing if, God forbid, I’d been extorted (yes even as a brown-skinned Filipino -American) or a drive-by shooting happens (Google it). I’ve always gotten myself to the airport from anywhere in Manila 3-4 hours early for that very reason and kept an eagle eye at my entire surroundings.

PAL and MNL’s airport management are famously to be blamed. Even airport real estate is a matter of mismanagement, poor planning, and outright stupidity. There’s just way too much going on airport grounds. Too many porters, idle staff, “security” people, vendors, “family and extended family” and everything in between that have no business being at an airport. PAL pasting “look, ma, we’re a four-star airline!” by cabin doors is a joke. Why some major PAL international flights were outside their T2 base is beyond me. Instead of trying to launch more new flights to the US, PAL needs to fix itself and accelerate

Getting screamed at on the way to that PAGSS lounge? Been there, done that.

Just a month back I had to transfer from Intl To Domestic. I budgeted plenty of time in-between. Domestic terminal is horrible if you have a long layover. Construction going on all over the place. No way I was waiting for the bus 45 minutes so I had to talk to 3 taxis before one was willing to take me, and then he played the “sorry no change sir” card. Having to exit the airport to transit is just insane I don’t know how they haven’t resolved that yet. Conflicting information from the PAL staff about paying to change to an earlier flight - one telling me I could only do it at the ticketing office outside, then another telling me I could do it there but it wasn’t available anyway.

Being stuck in that domestic terminal for 4 hours was horrible. The only walk outside you can take is to Jollibee and a few very sh*t food stalls are inside.

But returning on a PAL flight from Cebu (where they decided to bump me because I didn’t check in online - which I actually attempted a few times unsuccessfully), it was midnight and there was literally no transportation. Hundreds of people waiting with one taxi showing up every few minutes. Thank goodness for GRAB

Not a place I’d like to fly through again.

I think I got off pretty easy last week. Terminal 1 to 3, Thai to Cebu, both international, all economy. Monday lunchtime. Expected the worst so booked a 2 hour connection. Arrived into T1, straight through passport with no line and out to a Grab I booked in the airport ($3). 20 minutes to get round to T3, then through security, into the terminal, check in, straight through security again and passport and I was airside within an hour of landing on Thai, with two hours to spare. Wasn’t simple but nowhere near as bad as people had told me.

@Lucky

You were simply unwise to ignore the tidal wave of warnings about that sh*t show called MNL. I travel extensively in Asia/Pacific. From New Guinea, west to Sri Lanka, north to Nepal, east to Japan, further east to Hawaii and south to New Zealand. With the exception of just two nations, I've been to every other nation in between. That adds up to about 200 airports.

And MNL is conspicuous as the one and only airport I've avoided because of the horror stories. From stolen luggage, grouchy staff, lack of AC and clean toilets, queues of biblical proportions, disconnected terminals, extortion by airport workers, all the way through to murders, gunfights, kidnaps and even dead bodies found stuffed in suitcases! It's all there in glorious technicolor for anyone to watch and read, instead of just taking my word for it. But apparently PAL and MNL have plans for 'improvements'. Overall, I think you were there on a 'good' day.

MNL airport is THE WORST in the world. I was there last in 2015, flying out of T2. Before entering the guard wanted to see my boarding pass but I didn't have it because I needed to check-in. He wouldn't let me in so after 2 minutes of trying to reason with him I just barged in. Then prior to the check-in counter, there was a line run by airport personnel to weigh bags. WHY??? The airline weighed my bag and gave me my boarding pass. Then prior to security I had to visit a window to pay the airport tax in cash. Then I had to visit another window to pay the departure tax. After security check there was ANOTHER security check to enter the wing where my gate was.

I'm first gen Fil-Am, and my parents go to the PI often. This is THEIR take. The PI is overpopulated because its people are devoutly Catholic (I'll let you figure out the connection). Why couldn't the airport taxes be included in my ticket price like every other country in the world? Why does it take two people to collect these taxes? Why weigh my bag when it's the airline's job to do so? It's because the government creates pointless and menial jobs to put people to work.

Knowing that Lucky knowingly had to connect between disjointed terminals at MNL, I didn't see anything that looked remarkable here, given that it's a developing country. One shouldn't set oneself up for disappointment, yet that's what Lucky did. If I didn't know who the author was, I would've guessed it was written by a complete rookie of int'l travel.

Terminal 1 recently underwent a complete renovation, and your pictures show a sparkling facility, consistent with the last time I departed from there. Again, I understand the frustration of having to change between disconnected terminals, but with that in mind, screening of baggage at the entrance is common in many developing countries. And now, that queue is inside as opposed to before, when it was outside in the heat. Also, security is built by layers, so they put redundant layers at MNL due to all of the issues that have been seen in the past.

PAL doesn't have its own lounge at T1 because it's an overflow facility for them vs. their home terminal at T2. And those gate waiting areas, they are what they've always been in terms of size, and can get busy. But you can almost always find a seat and they are better than the average gate holding area at a large US airport.

Big yes to commenters' suggestion to use CEB as the gateway to the Philippines, when possible - at least if MNL isn't your (only) destination. For transfers, do your homework and consider the options accordingly.

I bet Lucky has never tried to make an Int'l-to-Int'l transfer at his home airport of MIA lol!... Anyway, is it just me, or is Lucky just getting shorter on patience these days? And his replies look more like retorts than they used to. Still appreciate the reviews, but there's definitely been a change in tone lately. :)

The transfer is truly awful, but its better if you prepare better for the experience. I do it a lot and its routine enough. First, just go straight through immigration. Second, if you want to wait for a free bus, you'll have to...wait. If you want to just go to your next terminal, you can take any one of the many, many buses that do loops around the airport (20 pesos for the cheap one, 100 pesos for the fancy one.) Or, if you dont have any pesos, you can just call a Grab taxi and take that directly to your next terminal (not more than 100-200 pesos). Then you wouldn't have to wait at all.

Had to connect from T1 to T3 and T4 to T1.

What an adventure that was, I passed immigration and exited the terminal to look for the shuttle only to realise you can only access the holding pen from the inside. Had to negociate my way back into the terminal to go back out to the outdoor waiting area.

Queues to enter T3 were huge thank god there is a seperate queue for shuttle bus passengers. The amount of people in T3 is nothing short of crazy felt like DXB but not premium, not to mention that there were 0 power plugs in the terminal.

T4 is an amazing small turboprop terminal and has to be the best of the 4. After waiting 20 mins for the bus I decided to just call a grab. Then there was the security check to enter T1, the huge line for checkin, thank god the webcheckin counter for KE was empty, I even got upgraded. Security lines were huge, stores take up 90% of the usable space in the terminal and other 10% is blocked off by security guards (what for ? who knows). I just found a restaurant upstairs from the main area and stayed there until my flight. Needless to say arriving at ICN after that felt like reaching the gates of heaven.