Refunds eyed for off-loaded passengers

MANILA, Philippines—Airline passengers off-loaded by immigration officers for one reason or another should be able to get a ticket refund.

The Bureau of Immigration has asked airlines serving international routes to refund “off-loaded” passengers the price of their ticket if they were not allowed to leave the country, BI OIC Commissioner Siegfred Mison said yesterday.

“We approached the airlines and told them that in instances where a passenger fails to make it to his flight and it’s not his fault—we did not allow him to board— his ticket should be refunded,” Mison said in an interview.

“We have yet to get their reply. I feel for the passengers. They can apply for a refund of the terminal fee from the airport but the airlines would say (the tickets) were nonrefundable because they were promo fares. So we approached the airlines,” he said.

Immigration officers offload passengers if they suspect that he or she is a human trafficking victim or if a passenger lacks the necessary documents. Some are eventually allowed to fly out only to find that they had missed their flight.—Philip C. Tubeza