A FORMER station manager of Cathay Pacific Airways has replaced Angel Honrado as the head of the Manila International Airport Authority.
Incoming Transportation secretary Arthur Tugade on Thursday confirmed that Ed Monreal had been appointed MIAA chief, and said his main job was to remove the Ninoy Aquino International Airport from the list of the worst airports in the world.
Based on the travel website The Guide to Sleeping in Airports, the Naia ranked eighth among the worst airports in Asia.
“Passengers remain annoyed by the poor customer service, the long queues, the sub-par food selection, the lack of restrooms and the crowded seating areas—aside from the leaking ceilings and collapsing floors,” the website says.
Monreal will also have his hands full against the tanim-bala syndicate, a group of airport staff who plant bullets on passenger luggage and then shake down their owners.
He will also need to address the persistent complaint of arriving passengers on the terminal fee.
Monreal started working at the airport in 1978, and four years after was recruited by Cathay Pacific.
He retired from private service last year but was hired as a consultant of the MIAA.
Airport old-timers welcomed his appointment, saying the MIAA needed a new face to professionalize airport operations. Vito Barcelo