NAIA is the world's worst airport for business class travelers -study

The Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) is the world's worst airport for business class travelers, said a study conducted by American luggage app Bounce.

According to Bounce's Business Class Index, NAIA has a 0.88/10 business class score, ranking 38th out of 38 busy airports all over the world.

The study looked at the airports' number of lounges, number of destinations served, percentage of on-time flights annually, and Skytrax rating.

"The main gateway to the Philippines, Manila's airport was the worst scoring for three different categories: its number of destinations, on-time performance, and rating from Skytrax," the Bounce rating read.

NAIA has 101 destinations served, 59.6% on-time flights annually, and a Skytrax rating of 3. It is in the middle of the pack in number of lounges with 14.

Meanwhile, London's Heathrow Airport is rated as the best airport when flying business class, followed by Japan's Haneda Airport and Singapore's Changi Airport.

Joining NAIA in the bottom three is United Kingdom's Gatwick Airport and United States' Newark Liberty International Airport.

In a statement, the Department of Transportation and Manila International Airport Authority questioned the basis of the study and addressed the three categories where the Philippines scored the worst.

"NAIA is a destination airport and not a hub airport, which is why there are not much business class lounges and onward destinations," the statement read. "Airlines primarily determine their need to put up business class lounges for their customers. Business class lounges abound in hub airports, which NAIA is not."

The DOTr also said the average on-time performance of NAIA in 2019 was 83% per the Air Carriers Association of the Philippines (ACAP), far from the 40% in 2016.

As for the Skytrax rating, the DOTr said NAIA was among the top 10 of the world's most improved airports based on Skytrax's 2018 World Airport Awards.

"While the 'study' shows unfavorable rating and unsubstantiated claims about NAIA, it cannot be denied that significant improvements have been carried out in the country's main gateway in the past six years under the Duterte administration," the statement said.

"The DOTr and Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) will continue to improve the airport facilities and its services to ensure a safe, reliable, convenient, and comfortable experience to the air riding public. Rest assured that the review shall serve as an inspiration for us to do more and better."

—MGP, GMA News