I hope we will make a concerted effort to improve the service and food quality at the new airport. The current arrangement at the airport is so bad, that I am told that the TSA and other employees will not eat there. There is no resemblance between what was described in the menu and what I got the last time I ate there.

The service, staffed, apparently, by halfway house employees (for a tax break?), is downright rude, ignorant and uncaring. A recent incident took this to an extreme – over a simple comment I made about the clock hanging over the bar.

While waiting for a flight recently, I commented that the clock in the airport was hard to read. You would have thought I had personally insulted someone’s mother or otherwise stuck my foot in my mouth. The first reaction was essentially “What? You don’t like our clock?”

I tried to explain that there used to be a digital clock that was easier to read and got shouted at across the room by a waitress I had never seen in there before and was told there was never any digital clock. I have been flying out of that airport regularly for about 3-1/2 years and there used to be a digital clock to just the right of the bottle beer refrigerator.

Woman who was apparently the manager was sitting there saw all this. I tried to tell her that being able to see the time clearly was important to a traveler so they would not miss thier flight. I got cut off in mid sentence, was told to wear a watch, and practically got laughed at. I was appalled at these reactions. I voiced my disgust, cancelled my order, advised them I would file a formal complaint and walked out.

Standing in line to go into security to board my plane, I was then approached by a policeman that the restaurant folk had apparently called to make trouble for me. I told him I was appalled they would attempt to cover themselves like that and explained the situation to him.

The policeman then asked if he could do anything for me. I told him to let the administration know that the restaurant at the airport is giving Panama City a bad name and not to let the restaurant try to use him to intimidate visitors. I then boarded the plane (without further hassle).

I think if I had been a tourist, instead of a resident that has flown out of Panama City nearly 100 times in the last 3-1/2 years, I would have sworn to not come back.

This, over a clock that they can get, by the way, from the beer distributor for free (I think the old one was a Michelob sign) and that will provide just a bit of customer service and comfort. DISGUSTING !

p.s. On the other hand, while I hate to even put it in the same discussion, the Chamber of Commerce lounge at the airport is superb. It is rather unique among any of the airports I have been to and makes the Panama City Airport the only small airport with a business lounge that I know of. Kudos to the Chamber and I hope they will continue that at the new airport !