Know your rights, air travelers urged

Airport chaos was “unprecedented.” CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/SAM AUDREY PAJARILLO

MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang on Saturday urged air passengers to know their rights and fight for them following the chaotic Christmas Day at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 3 resulting from delayed or canceled flights.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte encouraged passengers to familiarize themselves with their rights.

A summary of the Air Passenger Bill of Rights is available on the government’s official website (https://www.gov.ph/summary-of-the-rights-of-air-passengers/), Valte said.

“It is like a short guide for us to know what we should do when things like this situation happens,” Valte said in Filipino.

“We have to know our rights as passengers when our flights are delayed…[or] rebooked, what our entitlements are,” she added.

According to Valte, the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) has so far received 14 complaints from irate passengers since Dec. 23.

“You might wonder why there are only 14 complaints… We have been monitoring since Dec. 23 and the other complaints are coming in,” she said.

At any rate, Valte said there would be a meeting on Monday to “discuss the complaints together with the CAB and the DOTC (Department of Transportation and Communications).”

The CAB is investigating what happened, Valte said.

Thousands of passengers, most of them reportedly of Cebu Pacific airlines, had delayed or canceled flights.

They also complained of the lack of personnel manning the airline counters and the absence of CAB officials to competently explain the chaotic situation.

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