House panel OKs air passengers' bill of rights

(Updated 3:32 p.m.) A bill providing for relief and compensation for airline passengers whose flights have been delayed or cancelled is closer to becoming a law after hurdling the committee level in the House of Representatives.

 

The House committee on transportation on Tuesday unanimously approved the substitute proposal providing for a bill of rights for air passengers despite reservations expressed by airline representatives and the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

 

Magdalo partylist Rep. Francisco Ashley Acedillo, a proponent of the measure, said the urgency to pass the bill was driven by airline passengers’ growing complaints against carriers.

 

“We simply could not ignore the mounting complaints of our airline passengers. Otherwise, we, in Congress, would be called deaf to their clamor, he said.

 

Under the substitute bill, every passenger whose flight has been cancelled due to causes attributable to the air carrier shall be entitled to a reimbursement of the full cost of the ticket at the price at which it was bought, and for the part or parts of the journey not made or parts of the journey made if the flight is no longer serving any purpose in relation to the passenger’s original travel plan.

 

The reimbursement shall be made within five days either by cash, electronic bank transfer, bank orders or bank cheques.

 

The passenger with canceled flight shall also have the right to re-book the ticket without any additional charge, and be endorsed to another air carrier without paying any fare difference. 

• the mandatory granting of a 20 percent discount for senior cirizens, persons with disability and students; and 
• allowing passengers to reimburse 75 percent of their ticket cost should they cancel their flight more than 24 hours before the estimated time of departure, and full reimbursement for ancillary services they were unable to use, such as baggage fees and terminal fees.