THE United Filipino Consumers and Commuters (UFCC) has expressed its support to the call for immediate action of aircraft passengers who have expressed their frustration with airline carrier AirAsia’s alleged failure to honor promised ticket refunds.
“Ang UFCC bilang kumakatawan sa mga consumers and commuters ay nanawagan sa AirAsia na ibigay na ang matagal nang hinihinging refund ng kanilang mga pasahero (The UFCC, which is composed of consumers and commuters, is appealing to AirAsia to already pay the refund that it has promised its passengers),” UFCC president Rodolfo Javellana Jr. said in a statement.
“Napakalaking abala ang naidudulot nito sa inyong mga pasahero na nagbabayad naman ng tama. Hindi ito makatuwiran (This is causing inconvenience among passengers who have been correctly paying for their airfares. This is unjustified),” Javellana added.
AirAsia Philippines customers have taken to various social platforms media to vent their growing frustration and disappointment with the airline’s alleged failure to honor promised ticket refunds. The numerous posts on Facebook have exposed a troubling trend of delayed refunds, a lack of communication, and a perceived lapse in customer service.
AirAsia founder and top official Tony Fernandes has said in June this year that said it is targeting to resolve unpaid refunds for canceled flights in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic by October or November 2023.
In a Senate investigation into the recent spate of passenger complaints on flight delays and cancellations, AirAsia Philippines said airlines are cutting flights and working on fleet expansion to minimize flight cancellations and other disruptions resulting from supply chain issues.
Javellana noted that while it has apologized to passengers for the travel disruptions, AirAsia has yet to fully resolve their ticket refund issues, and with no relief coming from authorities, disgruntled AirAsia clients — from the Philippines and abroad — are flooding social media with complaints.
He added that Filipinos are not alone in AirAsia’s alleged mishandling of refunds, citing the case of Australian Rhonda Newburn who has posted a plea in another Facebook group for a refund that had been due for over three years, asserting that her situation happened even before the pandemic.
