Protect them

With intense competition among airlines to attract more passengers and thus assure that their bottom line—profit—is secure, among the unintended consequences have been delays and cancellations of flights due to overbooking and congestion in airports, often leaving travelers bewildered and angry.   

As what happened last December at NAIA, when long lines at the counter due to lack of ground staff during the holidays resulted in delayed or missed flights that made passengers vow never to patronize the airline again.

But help may be on the way. A bill providing for relief and compensation for airline passengers whose flights have been delayed or cancelled has been passed at the committee level of the House of Representatives despite intense lobbying against it by airline companies and the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Under the proposed 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 passenger with delayed 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 bill should be passed soonest as it would recognize the rights of airline passengers to just compensation for inconveniences and hassles suffered through no fault of their own.

Image by www.traveldailynews.com