Cebu Pacific reimburses P2.4 B on canceled reservations to customers

Philippine travel agents praised low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific for reimbursing P2.4 billion to customers who canceled reservations due to COVID-19.

“This is good news and I hope they can complete 100 percent sooner rather than later,” said Ritchie Tuano, president of the Philippines Travel Agents Association (PTAA).

The PTAA has 605 members operating across the country, including 439 travel agencies offering mixed services from retailers, wholesalers, tour and transportation operators. Tuano said that between 18 and 22 percent of the establishments are accredited by the Department of Tourism (DoT).

The association had previously said that they are now seeking refunds worth P940 million from canceled flights from 27 airlines, including domestic airlines Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and AirAsia and some notable international airlines such as Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airways Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways. International and Turkish Airways.

Cebu Pacific asked its customers for patience and understanding as they continue to improve their refund process to resolve the issue “as soon as possible.”

The airline said it can only operate 10 percent of its pre-COVID network as the tourism and aviation industries were hit the hardest amid the unprecedented crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are currently at half of the refund requests submitted last April,” he added.

The airline said the amount equates to 50 percent of refund requests received from various travelers.