MANILA (UPDATE) — The Senate on Wednesday began its probe into the “numerous passenger complaints” against local airlines, with senators and regular passengers sharing their “nightmarish” flight experiences.
The Senate resolution filed by Sen. Nancy Binay only specified Cebu Pacific’s issue with overbooking and offloading but the Senate Committee on Tourism also invited representatives from Philippine Airlines and Air Asia.
“Aside from the power outages in our airports, airline passengers continue to complain of overbooking, offloading and booking glitches against Cebu Pacific and other airlines… It can’t always be the passengers who consistently adjust. It looks like they are now numb to the plight and complaints of passengers. Our people deserve better,” said Binay, chairperson of the panel.
While Sen. Grace Poe acknowledged that overbooking is a globally accepted practice, “systematic delays and cancellations are not.”
She also asked the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) to determine if airlines are going over the 5 percent allowable overbooking.
“Sa dami ng reklamo, mainam na tanungin ang CAB kung may breach na ba sa threshold na ito at kung ano ang penalty na pinapataw nila para dito,” Poe said.
Sen. JV Ejercito meanwhile shared his personal ordeal with an airline that affected his official engagement.
“We need to fix these issues for tourism and the business climate [of the country]. Our airports and airlines are the first and last impression for every tourist and potential business or investor,” Ejercito said.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros said the frequent flight “inconveniences” affect the country’s reputation and tourism potential.
“These kinds of inconveniences disrupt the travel experiences also of tourists, and as the chair said, could negatively affect the tourism sector. Paano pa natin ipagmamalaking top tourist destination ang bansa kung puro stress at aberya ang pwedeng sumalubong pati sa mga turista?” Hontiveros lamented.
“Sa mga nakaranas nyan sa kanilang mga holiday at filed leave, sangkaterbang abala, horror story, at bangungot ang kasabay niyan,” she added.
The Department of Tourism (DOT) in a statement agreed with the senators that “air transport service is a significant and an indispensable component of tourism in a vastly archipelagic country such as ours.”
The DOT said it is optimistic that the current issues with local airlines can still be fixed.
“We do believe that the hitches that the air transport riding public currently experience is something that can be resolved, given that the practices of our domestic airline industry in largely in unison with those of international standards,” the agency said.
In a statement, Cebu Pacific said it “sincerely regret[s] the inconvenience that we have caused” to passengers.
This company said the issues were “primarily driven by fleet availability issues” felt by the global aviation industry “along with specific environmental factors.”
To address the issues, Cebu Pacific said they have already established a disruption management team, reduced their flight schedule, and increased their standby aircraft.
“We understand that these mitigating actions may still seem insufficient for our affected passengers. We assure you that we are actively managing the situation and determining how we can assist affected passengers,” the company said.
Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa meanwhile asked CAB if it is amenable to proposals seeking to institutionalize the Air Passenger Bill of Rights in order to protect the public from erring airline companies.
“What is your position? Do you agree with the proposal to create a law that will institutionalize the Air Passenger Bill of Rights?” asked Dela Rosa.
CAB Executive Director Carmelo Arcilla, in response, said they have been very supportive of the proposal.
In the House of Representatives, the Makabayan bloc today filed a resolution seeking to probe Cebu Pacific as well.
“Cebu Pacific, one of the country’s major airlines, has been the subject of numerous complaints from passengers… causing undue inconvenience and distress,” read the resolution filed by Gabriela Party List Rep. Arlene Brosas, ACT Teachers Party List Rep. France Castro, and Kabataan Party List Rep. Raoul Manuel.
Cagayan De Oro City 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, for his part urged Congress to suspend Cebu Pacific’s franchise, citing the numerous complaints received from passengers in his region.
