PH gov’t eyes review of aviation act, higher penalties for erring airlines

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ID-100287668The government wants to update the Civil Aeronautics Act of the Philippines and increase penalties for erring airlines after the flight chaos that occurred at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) during the recent Christmas rush.

The Civil Aeronautics Act of the Philippines, or Republic Act No. 776, which was signed 1952, mandates that any air carrier or person “who violates or fails to comply with any provision of this act of the terms, conditions, or limitations in a permit or amendment thereto or any orders, rules, or regulations, issued by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), shall be subject to a fine not exceeding P5,000 for each violation.”

Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said that nowadays, “P5,000 is something that they will just laugh at. There is a need to amend the law. Definitely P5,000 for a multibillion-peso airline industry is nothing.”

The government is currently investigating the cause of the numerous delayed and cancelled flights by budget carrier Cebu Pacific Air on December 24 to December 26 that created chaos at NAIA Terminal 3 and prompted a deluge of complaints from affected passengers.

The government has expressed doubts with the explanation of Cebu Pacific that put the blame for the flight mayhem on air traffic congestion and bad weather.

The investigating panel composed of officials from the CAB, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, and the Manila International Airport Authority is gathering its own data on matters such as the number of dislocated passengers, routes affected, and total capacity versus seats sold and flown to determine if there was overbooking.

The government’s decision on the incident is expected to be out before the end of January. Cebu Pacific could face fines, suspension, or even revocation of its franchise if found to be responsible for the disturbance.

“What is clear from the panel’s initial report is that Cebu Pacific had an appalling number of delayed flights from December 24 to 26,” Abaya said.

“Cebu Pacific is blaming air traffic congestion, but this does not appear to be supported by the facts,” Abaya added.

According to the transport chief, six flights arrived late at NAIA in the early morning of December 24 alone and there was no congestion yet at that time.

“These incidents of tardiness caused a domino effect of delays throughout the rest of the day. And yet Cebu Pacific claims that it was congestion that caused the mess,” he explained.

“Worse, in the morning of December 26, only two check-in counters for domestic flights were open. It was not until 11 a.m. that more counters were opened, after CAB and MIAA intervened,” the transport chief added.

According to data submitted by Cebu Pacific to the panel last December 29, the airline had a total of 20 cancelled flights and 288 delayed flights at NAIA Terminal 3 from December 24 to 26. The breakdown submitted by the carrier is as follows:

Flights Out of Manila      Dec. 24 Dec. 25 Dec. 26

Scheduled           145         149         145

Added (“Extra Section”)                6              5              5

Cancelled            13           3              4

Flown    138         151         146

Delayed               102         79           107

“The flying public deserves much better service than that. We sympathize with those who lost precious hours with their families and loved ones on Christmas, and we will see to it that Cebu Pacific will answer for any possible mismanagement,” Abaya said.

Image courtesy of khunaspix at FreeDigitalPhotos.net