Charles Teves
A netizen has gotten viral after ranting about Cebu Pacific cancelling her flights twice in three weeks.
Passenger Maki Van Eker shared her experience on social media after the airline cancelled her flight from Dumaguete to Manila while she was already at the airport.
She travelled to take her dentistry board exam.
“[Cebu Pacific,] you cancelled my flight 3 weeks ago which almost made me miss my board exam, from May 1st, you said the next available flight was May 5th. You also said that all flights were either cancelled or fully booked and there’s nothing you could do about it. The best thing you could offer was May 2 at 8 pm which is super late considering my exam would be 7 am on May 3,” she wrote on Facebook.
She reported that a customer representative from Cebu Pacific informed her that the May 2 flight to Manila was also not assured due to potential cancellations.
She accepted the explanation and left the airport. However, later her aunt booked another flight for her to Manila the next day, even though she had been told it was fully booked. The new ticket cost PHP14,000.
“The audacity to bump off passengers who booked their flights MONTHS ago only to sell them to people who are willing to pay more due to emergencies or in my case… My board exam!”
Van Eker’s return flight to Dumaguete, which was confirmed with a boarding pass in hand, was cancelled on May 20. She was informed that her flight would be rescheduled six days later.
Van Eker narrated that she came to the airport early; checked in online; had her boarding pass only to be told at the bag drop counter that her flight was cancelled and moved to the 26th of May.
Due to her disbelief, she could only utter, “IS THIS A JOKE?”
She asked the counter lady where she would get an additional budget for her six-day stay in Manila. The lady just answered that she was only manning the counter and could not help her with that.
Van Eker exclaimed, “HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO PAYING CUSTOMERS TWICE IN 3 WEEKS?”
If a flight is cancelled by the airline within 24 hours before departure, passengers have the right to request a full refund of their fare. They can also be transferred to another airline at no extra cost, or have their tickets rebooked without additional charges. This is provided that the airline is at fault.
In the case where a passenger is already at the airport and their flight is cancelled, they are entitled to demand hotel accommodations near the airport. They are entitled to free transportation from the airport to the hotel, meals and refreshments, and free phone calls and texts.
