Two major airlines serving the Hong Kong to Manila route have vowed to help hundreds of Filipino workers stranded in the city after a travel agency failed to pay for their pre-booked flights home.
In statements online, Cathay Pacific and Philippine Airlines announced efforts to help workers get home to their families for the Christmas holidays.
As many as 500 people, predominately domestic helpers, have been left devastated by the fiasco which emerged on Sunday, reported the Sun, a Filipino community newspaper covering the city.
The passengers — many reduced to tears — had paid for their tickets through the Filipino-owned Peya Travel agency only to discover they did not have a seat on flights home because no payment was received by the airlines.
Cathay Pacific, according to the SCMP, has started selling remaining seats on upcoming flights at “distress rates”.
The tickets are reportedly being sold for as cheap as HK$1,300 (US$166) each and are being made available from today until Dec 31.
In a tweet earlier this week, the airline urged affected passengers to get in touch via its call centre (2747 3333) or use Twitter or Facebook to send a private message.
Cathay is also considering using bigger aircraft on its route to Manila to increase capacity, the SCMP reported.
Philippine Airlines (PAL) announced it would use larger planes for flights on its Manila – Hong Kong – Manila route in coming days.
On Dec. 22 and 23 and Jan. 3 and 4, the company will use a 309-seat Airbus A330 instead of the originally intended 199-seat Airbus A321.
“Our hearts go out to our stranded countrymen. We hope this gesture will serve as a means to help a number of them come home to the Philippines in time for Christmas day,” PAL president Jaime Bautista said in a statement posted online.
According to the Sun, Cebu Pacific, another airline with regular daily flights to Hong Kong, was exploring ways to help the stranded workers, though its flights before Christmas were all full.
Crowds of irate and distressed Filipinos descended on Peya travel agency’s offices in Central’s World-Wide House on Monday and Tuesday, demanding an explanation and refunds.
Yesterday and today, the company — which blamed a technical glitch and released an apology on Facebook — was closed.
Mary Jade Villegas, a domestic helper who turned up at World-Wide House on Wednesday, told Coconuts Hong Kong she was devastated after finding out the HKS3,050 ticket she bought on Sept. 28 in order to fly home on Dec. 27 was invalid.
“So far, all I want is to go home, because my children are very excited to spend New Year with me for the first time,” said the 39-year-old, who has worked in Hong Kong for three years.
Villegas this morning took time off work to visit TNG, a remittance agency that has announced it is setting up a HK$500,000 (US$63,800) fund to help the stranded workers. According to the Sun, TNG will give $HK1,000 to its members who booked flights through Peya.
However, she said tickets through PAL for Dec. 27 were almost HK$8,000, leaving her feeling “hopeless.”
In the wake of the fiasco, the Philippine Consulate released a statement expressing “deep concern” about the situation and warning people to avoid using the agency.
The Sun reported that Philippine Vice Consul Bob Quintin had talked to Peya’s sales and marketing director Arnold Grospe and Peya owner and managing director Rhea Donna Boyce, who again claimed the problem arose from a system glitch.
So far, 131 people who failed to board flights booked through the agency had lodged complaints with the consulate.
Hong Kong police have reportedly classified the issue as a “dispute” and directed complainants to the Travel Industry Council, which has temporarily suspended Peya’s license, according to reports.
