Zia Airport - though improved, still needs a lot of help. While the airport has new boarding gates, and the arrivals now boast new luggage belts, the appearance of the airport is still cute unclean and the layout leaves a lot to desire for. On arrival, why do passengers have to go through such long series of stairs to the immigration area? I noticed some elderly folks with large carry on pieces struggling to walk down those stairs. In the arrivals hall, immigration processing is way too slow. Under a new directive, all information is keyed in computers to a database while a passenger enters and exits the country. Unfortunately, this takes an incredible amount of time to enter all the info. I don't know why the process cannot be streamlined by scanning the passport info into a database and the keying in done at some other location at a later time. The customs area is working in better condition, and I am very glad for it. The area where passengers take cars from the arrivals area is still chaotic, although blocking general public access is a good idea. They still need to filter out taxi/porter and agents from this area. The departure immigration procedure is equally painful. I nearly missed my flight waiting for the line to move. It took 40 minutes for the 6 passengers in front of me to clear immigration. Boarding gates are ok, but can they not put news on the tv in waiting areas rather than music tv? I guess that is partly due to the taste of the passengers so I can't complain much. As for the domestic terminal, it runs a lot better than the international one. Check is for the two airlines is neat and easy. The terminal lounge is clean. The arrivals area is now graced with a luggage belt, so it is definitely more efficient.
