News & Current Events,  Politics & Law

Air Passenger Bill of Rights To Be Implemented Soon, Finally!

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has finally signed a joint administrative order on Air Passenger Bill of Rights.

The DOTC-DTI Joint Administrative Order (JAO) No. 1, Series of 2012 was approved after three public hearings conducted by the two Departments.The hearings were attended by various stakeholders, including representatives of airline companies, consumer groups and other concerned citizens, who actively presented their comments and suggestions to develop the regulation. The public consultations also involved the participation of other government units, such as the Department of Tourism and the offices of several Senators and Congressmen.

The Regulation will take effect ten (10) days after its publication (Tuesday) in major dailies, or on December 21, just in time for the expected influx of air passengers for the Christmas holiday.

Upon effectivity, the JAO shall oblige airline companies to provide passengers with compensation and amenities, such as refreshments or meals, hotel accommodations, transportation to and from the airport, and communication, in case of cancellation or flight delays.

The topics covered in the final JAO include:

· Right to be provided with accurate information

· Right to receive full value of the service purchased

· Right to compensation in cases of delay, cancellation, and delayed, lost or damaged baggage

With the implementation of the Air Passenger Bill of Rights, passengers in the air sector will be assured of protection against perceived unfair policies and practices of airline companies.

See the full text of DOTC-DTI JAO No. 1, Series of 2012.

It was long overdue. But of course it is not too late to implement.

6 Comments

  • Joni Mason

    I’m glad to see this finally take effect! So many people have lost precious time and money due to cancellations . Passenger deserve to be compensated when there are delays are cancellations. Thank you for reporting on this.

  • Brad M.

    I am so glad to see this accomplishment done. It is way late in getting done but so glad to see it finial implement. Now when I fly I can be reassurred that I will have some rights instead of the air line companies telling me the what, when, and where. Thank you!!

  • Karen Hand

    I, too, am glad to see this bill pass at long last. Only on a couple occasions have I been inconvenienced while traveling by air, but the situations have been unnerving to say the least. It is good to hear that passengers will be compensated for their time and trouble when there are cancellations and/or delays.

  • Peggy Bolling

    It’s a crying shame that a bill had to be passed to make people do the right thing they should have in the first place. I don’t travel but if I decided to prices would sure be an issue.

  • vickie marks allbright

    i too am also happy to see this in effect it is a huge issue when traveling to be cancelled and stuck somewhere and now we have rights

  • Marissa

    Would love to see this in effect. Several airline companies already took away free meals during flight. I hate to go hungry when I am traveling.

Leave a Reply to Karen Hand Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.