MANILA, Philippines – After two public hearings over the Air Passenger Bill of Rights, Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas said the final draft of this policy meant to address mounting complaints on airline industry practices, including overbooking and ticket refunds, will be out as promised by end-August.
“Not later than end of this month,” Roxas said in a text message to reporters on Monday, August 13, referring to the the final version of the DOTC-DTI-CAB Administrative Order No. 01 known as the Air Passenger Bill of Rights.
“It appears that there will be no need for another public hearing. Subsequent consultations and inputs can be done via memoranda or email,” added Roxas, reiterating what he said during the second public hearing last July 20.
The DOTC (Department of Transportation), CAB (Civil Aeronautics Board) and CAAP (Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines) are finalizing the provisions before the final draft is circulated. “We will publish this draft for final comments before we finalize,” added Roxas.
Among the contentious issues tackled and deliberated during the last hearing were:
- Opening and closing hours of check-in counters depending on the type of aircraft
- required ad space for airlines to clearly state the restrictions
- conditions and other matters about air ticket
- including inclusion of terms and conditions twice in English and Filipino
- declaration of the number of seats offered on promo fare
- compensation for denial of boarding
- compensation for loss
- damage and delay of baggage
- special provisions for persons with disabilities
- immediate payment of compensation
- reserve aircraft
Roxas reiterated that the DOTC wants to help the air industry sector effectively run their business operations but emphasized that protecting passengers’ rights is the main objective of crafting the Air Passenger Bill of Rights. – Rappler.com
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