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CAB rolls out 24/7 hotline, help desks in more airports

By RIE TAKUMI, GMA News

A hotline for passenger inquiries and complaints inside airports has been officially launched by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) on their 70th anniversary after a year of testing the service with five major airports on Tuesday.

Flight-related concerns may be forwarded to the Air Passenger Bill of Rights (APBR) Contact Center through 165-66, their secondary numbers for the four NAIA terminals, and through e-mail at APBR@cab.gov.ph.

 

 

CAB Executive Director Carmelo Arcilla said the hotline will allow them to give passengers assistance 24/7, bring concerns to the attention of the proper level of authorities and raise the quality of passengers assistance.

"We are going to use digital technology so that they can bring to the attention of the appropriate level of authority matters that need to be addressed quickly," Arcilla.

The hotline is not toll free, but assistance will be free at the passenger rights assistance desks (PRAD) that will be launched in 25 airports around the Philippines in addition to the five airports that piloted both PRAD and the hotline.

CAB signed a memoranda of agreement with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), and Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) in May 2016 to establish PRAD.

Personnel manning PRADs are primarily tasked to "assist, handle, and address passenger concerns" and "to monitor airline operations in their respective airports to ensure that the airlines are compliant with CAB rules and regulations."

 

 

Apart from NAIA, Clark International Airport, Davao International Airport, Kalibo International Airport, and Mactan-Cebu International Airport, PRADs will be established in the following airports:

  • Laong International Airport (Area II)
  • Basco Airport
  • Tuguegarao Airport (Area IV)
  • Busuanga Airport
  • Puerto Prinscesa Airport (Area V)
  • Legazpi Airport
  • Naga Airport
  • Virac Airport (Area VI)
  • Bacolod-Silay International Airport
  • Caticlan Airport
  • Iloilo International Airport
  • Roxas Airport (Area VII)
  • Dumaguete Airport
  • Tagbilaran Airport (Area VIII)
  • Tacloban Airport (Area IX)
  • Diplog Airport
  • Pagadian Airport
  • Zamboanga Airport (Area X)
  • Ozamiz Airport
  • Laguindingan Airport
  • Camiguin Airport (Area XI)
  • General Santos Airport (Area XII)
  • Butuan Airport
  • Siargao Airport
  • Surigao Airport

Arcilla said the hotline and the assistance desks are "a work in progress" and the "first step" towards making passenger assistance real-time.

"The goal is to really provide access to data, to bring to the attention of the appropriate level of authority at the soonest possible time," he said. "That's the goal, na ma-access natin lahat ng pertinent data outright, in real time. But it will take time before we get there."

Dynamic Outsource Solutions 1, Inc., represented on Tuesday by its president Edgardo Cayton, will manage the hotline.

The company has previously won contracts with the Land Transportation Franchising & Regulatory Board, Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Commission on Overseas Filipinos (CFO).

Arcilla also announced that CAB will keep surveillance on its assistance desks and relay real-time information on airlines and airports through Facebook Messenger and Ivedeon.

 

 

Ivedeon is an application wherein one can watch live video feeds and video archives from surveillance cameras linked to "both the Ivedeon Server and IP cameras with built-in Ivedeon software."

https://www.ivideon.com/help/basics/what-is-ivideon-client/

When asked about the security of these software, Cayton said they are "studying to integrate everything into their system"  and there are "firewalls in place" to secure their phone lines.

"As for the moment, we are studying how we can integrate all this, kunyari yung inyong airline desks, sa aming system. The firewalls and security measures are in place and we are testing this over period of time," Cayton said.

Dynamic Outsource Solutions is currently only under contract to maintain the hotline, which will initially have three active call center agents per shift or 14 agents per day. — MDM, GMA News

Tags: cab, civilaeronauticsboard, naia
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