SMOOTH TRIP THROUGH CLARK AIR BASE

My first trip out of the country through the former American facility Clark Air Base to Hongkong today proved to be smooth and easy.

The early morning trip from Manila to Clark was about 1 hour and 20 minutes, roughly the same time it takes from Tokyo to Narita or from downtown Bangkok to Suvarnhabumi Airport.

At the Clark International Airport, passengers’ flow was smooth and easy with the security officers at the X-Ray area showing courtesy to incoming passengers.

There were no grumpy faces. Instead, there were smiles among the security officers who even went out of their way to guide passengers to where to go next.

There were no long queues of passengers at the check-in counter while the immigration officers, who obviously were boxing fans because they recognized me immediately, waved us in without many questions.

The only sore part of the Clark International Airport was the absence of the passengers’ tube which could have facilitated the boarding.

After passing through what appeared like a warehouse at the groundfloor of the pre-departure area, passengers were either bused or were asked to walk to the planes parked some 100 meters away from the terminal building.

But otherwise, the first trip through Clark Air Base International Airport proved to be a pleasant one.

Given the lower cost of airfare when taking the international flights from Clark, I might go through the route again the next time.