Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III on Thursday called on the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to adopt a policy similar to that of the United States, requiring airlines to automatically issue cash refunds for canceled or significantly delayed flights.
The U.S. policy mandates that airlines provide refunds without passengers needing to request them and also covers compensation for delayed baggage.
Pimentel believes such a policy would incentivize airlines to improve their services and reduce the frequency of flight disruptions, ensuring a better travel experience for passengers.
“I hope that Filipino travelers could benefit from similar passenger protections. Both local and international travelers should be reimbursed for the inconvenience caused by flight delays and cancellations,” he said in a statement.
The senator pointed to a major disruption on July 19, when a Microsoft system outage affected numerous domestic and international flights, inconveniencing thousands of passengers worldwide.
Pimentel stressed that airlines must be held accountable for delays and cancellations, warning that failure to address these issues would be a social injustice.
“What we want to prevent is to ruin what should be a good and pleasant experience, travel, or vacation, by making these airlines accountable and ensuring that passengers get a refund without delay,” he said.
Under the new U.S. Department of Transportation policy, travelers now automatically receive refunds if they choose not to rebook due to significant disruptions, streamlining the compensation process and making it more convenient for affected passengers.