Airlines take longer time to process refunds as applications pile up

Local carriers explained Thursday that they are taking more time to process air ticket refunds as volume of applications piled up due to frequent flight cancellations.

“This pandemic has disrupted several businesses, with the tourism and aviation sectors among those hardest hit. Though we began operating our commercial flights in June, we are still behind our expected capacity forecast. To date, we are only operating about 10% of our pre-COVID network,” Candice Iyog, Cebu Pacific vice president for Marketing & Customer Experience, said.

“Given the high number of flight cancellations, refund requests continue to rise and pile up day by day,” Iyog said.

She added that the unprecedented volume has caused a backlog in the airline’s system, resulting in processes taking longer than expected.

“As of now, refunds take about five months from the date it was filed,” she said.

For its part, AirAsia Philippines also said that the carrier is experiencing a “higher than usual” volume of queries and requests.

“We continue to do all we can to best assist any guest affected by a disrupted service during this period and thank them for their patience,” it added.

Sought for comment, Tourism Congress of the Philippines president Jose Clemente III said that tickets booked through travel agencies “have been slow to be processed for refunds, whereas tickets booked directly to the airlines are being processed and released.”

“The impression consumers have now is that the travel agencies are holding on to their money which is not the general case. The travel agencies are also waiting to receive the refunds from the airlines,” Clemente said.

AirAsia said it understands the urgency of customers’ queries relating to the current health situation and any changes to their travel plans.

“The company has made it a priority to persistently work with various partner organizations, including banks and travel agencies, to immediately address guests’ concerns,” AirAsia said.

Cebu Pacific, likewise, assured partners and customers that “we are still here, listening, and doing all we can to expedite the refund process.”

“We do understand how challenging this whole situation is for all of us, and we sincerely apologize for the delay. We humbly ask for more patience and understanding as we do all we can to ensure the long-term sustainability of Cebu Pacific, so we may continue fulfilling our commitment to enable passengers to fly affordably,” Iyog said.—LDF, GMA News