Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya of the DOTC and Secretary Gregory Domingo of the DTI have officially authorized the final Bill of Rights for Air Passengers and Carrier Obligations which protects air passengers from being abused by air transport carriers.
The Bill of Rights, which encompasses both local and foreign airlines, will be enforced on Dec. 21, 10 days after it was published in a newspaper on Dec. 11.
It covers areas such as refundability and re-bookability of tickets, baggage offloading, denial of boarding, flight delays and cancellations, overbooking guidelines and compensations for death and bodily injuries, among many others.
The order states that due to the liberalized and highly competitive industry of air transportation, there is a tendency for airlines to practice unsound business policies and practices which are detrimental to consumer rights and interests, thus it is in this nature that the government has drawn up the Bill of Rights to protect passengers.
According to reports, the Civil Aeronautics Board data reported that in 2011, passenger complaints amounted to 81, an increase from 2010’s 77 complaints.
These complaints included demands for refund, unfair practices and negligence of personnel, cancelled and delayed flights, denied boarding, lost luggage and misleading advertisement.
