The poll result recently released by a Canada-based airport review website which shows that Vietnam’s two major airports are among the worst in Asia is not really objective, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) said Monday.
Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport and Ho Chi Minh City-based Tan Son Nhat are ranked fifth and eighth in the “Top 10 Worst Airports in Asia 2014” list published by The Guide to Sleeping in Airports on October 15.
“As the poll result is merely determined by the members of the website, which is not a professional aviation assessment organization, it does not objectively reflect the service quality improvement at Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat airports,” the CAAV said in a statement.
The Guide to Sleeping in Airports said the poll result is “based on overall airport experience as determined by [the site’s] voters” in the 2014 Airport Survey.
“Those represented on this list show up because of their consistent uncleanliness, their counter-intuitive layout and absolute lack of amenities,” it said.
The website, which provides airport reviews and tips for sleeping in the airport overnight, as well as ranking best and worst terminals, said the Hanoi airport is “frequently noted for being hot, chaotic and not especially clean.”
The Guide to Sleeping in Airports voters also complained that Noi Bai airport annoyed them with its poor signage and limited flight information displayed throughout the terminal. The airport also lacks many basic facilities, including foreign exchange bureaus and sufficient numbers of chairs, according to the website.
As for the Tan Son Nhat airport, The Guide to Sleeping in Airports describes it as having average facilities, but its cleanliness levels fluctuate.
The CAAV, however, said it acknowledged the website’s comments and remarks as “important information,” from which more solutions to better improve the service quality at the country’s airports, including Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat, will be worked out.
“The Vietnamese civil aviation industry has extended efforts to improve its services over the past few years,” the authority pressed.
Relevant regulatory agencies and aviation businesses have invested in upgrading the airport infrastructure and facilities, and the airport services have thus been much improved, according to the CAAV.
Pakistan’s Islamabad Benazir Bhutto International Airport is Asia’s worst airport, according to The Guide to Sleeping in Airports.
The airport is criticized for “the absence of crowd control, the pervasive corruption, the aggressive-yet-inconsistent security checks, and the overall lack of cleanliness and technology,” The Guide to Sleeping in Airports said.
The website was founded in 1996 by Donna McSherry, a former travel consultant specializing in South America, as a database of airport reviews.
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