CRK sucks

CHILLAX, I’M flying out of Clark.

Yeah, sans the horrendous Manila traffic to NAIA, absent the congestion at its terminals, Clark’s a breeze. No rush, no rush. Still able to put this paper to bed Thursday, with a lot of time to spare for my 5:30 p.m. Philippines AirAsia flight to Incheon. So, with the old dependable Yaris drove leisurely to CRK.    

Well, what do you know! Clark airport ain’t the same anymore.

The Park-and-Fly area is now right by the very gate, over 400 meters – I reckon – from the terminal. A long, tedious walk even with but a hand-carried roller luggage in tow. And in this hot weather, a capital punishment for park-and-flyers.

Transferring the P-A-F from where it used to be – a two-minute gait to the terminal – is simply genius – evil, sadistic genius.

For ease of park-and-flyers, sheer logic and practicality too, their designated area should be nearest the terminal. They leave their cars and walk. Giving those lots to vehicles of fetchers, greeters and welcomers defeats P-A-F’s very reason for being.

Fetchers generally come with their own drivers. They can be dropped off at the greeters’ area and their vehicles parked farther, say near the gate where the P-A-F is now, and texted or called when the passenger being fetched has come out of the terminal. Basic practical sense.

Good there was this Grab driver who took pity on this senior profusely sweating as he walked to the terminal and gave him a lift.

Good too that those CIAC security people checking tickets and passports prior to entry are most courteous and helpful, especially to this senior who was waved to the front of a short queue and assisted with his luggage to the X-ray machine. Those security officers turned out to be the saving grace in this last Clark airport experience.

At the sound of the full body metal detector, I was asked to remove my belt and watch, and repeat the process. Okay.

Still good at the PAA check-in counter: one luggage tagged in, a back pack for carry-on. Boarding pass though had to be held pending presentation of travel tax receipt.

That evil, sadistic ingenuity came to the fore anew. A long line snaked down to the half of the terminal to the TIEZA counter manned by two personnel: one “evaluator” and one cashier, each seemingly taking his own sweet time at his oh-so-important function of getting P1,600 from each air passenger.

I pitied one passenger who had to beg to get ahead of the line as his flight was announced to be already boarding.

Yeah, whatever time saved in going CRK – compared to taking NAIA – is wasted at that travel tax traffic.  

It won’t tax TIEZA’s brain to expand its little corner and add to its personnel at the CRK to make life a lot easier for the passengers. Of course, assuming TIEZA has brains.

The long queue would have been more tolerable if air-conditioning was working on that side of the terminal. As it obviously was not, we all had that feverish feel – me soaked in sweat to my skin.

And with the mass of passengers checking in that side where post-quake repairs were still being undertaken, the heat really turned oppressive.

Come to think of it, we all hailed the Clark International Airport Corp. for managing to resume airport operations “within the fastest possible time” after the damage to the terminal wrought by the April 22 temblor.

Two months after, CIAC still had to finish its “minor repairs” of part of the terminal wall and ceiling. To the sufferance of the passengers.

True, we await with joy and gladness the completion of the new world-class CRK terminal with its promised ease, convenience, and comfort to the passengers. In the meantime, can’t we at least be spared of these Third World aggravations?

CIAC owes this to the public. After all, it is stated as one of its core values:   

“We strive to always meet and exceed customer expectations by providing exceptional services and state of the art facilities.”

State of the art facilities, my ass. On my return, 2:30 a.m. Sunday, had to walk again all the way to the P-A-F by the gate. But for the fence, it was in total darkness. Looking for the Yaris – amid all those vehicles parked every which way but proper – was like navigating a maze blindfolded.

Yeah, Clark airport sucks.