Cebu Pacific apologizes for canceled flights

Cebu Pacific Air (CEB), the country’s biggest budget carrier, has issued an apology to passengers affected by flight cancellations due to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) leaders’ summit held in Manila this week.

The apology comes as some passengers took a more proactive stance in airing their complaints. On Thursday, lawyer Raymond Fortun threatened to sue the budget airline amid confusion on the status of his flight home from Vietnam, which was canceled. Fortun claimed he was not properly informed.

READ: Lawyer Fortun threatens Cebu Pacific: See you in court

“The e-mail message was automatically sent to all passengers with flights departing within 72 hours. This resulted in some passengers going to the airport, despite their flight being canceled,” Cebu Pacific said in an e-mailed statement.

“CEB sincerely apologizes to passengers with canceled flights, who still received a system generated e-mail prompting them to check in online,” it added.

Fortun said he incurred additional, unplanned expenses abroad, apart from schedule disruptions for him and his family.

Cebu Pacific and flag carrier Philippine Airlines, meanwhile, lost over P1 billion in foregone revenue due to the Apec summit.

PAL estimated gross revenue losses of about $18.7 million from the cancellation of about 700 flights this week, an announcement showed. Separately, Cebu Pacific estimated that forgone revenue during the period likely hit P400 million from the cancellation of over 800 flights.