A lawmaker is urging the congress to pass the Magna Carta of Airline Passengers Rights as the Holy Week holiday rush caused 26 delayed flights and three cancelled flights.
Bayan Muna Representative and principal author of the Magna Carta, Neri Colmenares, said flight delays “is becoming a perennial and festering problem.”
“To prevent this from happening again we in the Makabayan bloc already filed House Bill 5361 or the Magna Carta of Airline Passengers Rights which lays down the basic rights of airline passengers and to prevent the continued abuse of passengers by unscrupulous airline carriers,” said Colmenares.
“One of the main content of House Bill 5361 is to prohibit overbooking. It also creates the Office of Aviation Arbiters, to do away with unduly long and costly court litigations so that passengers can have fast resolution of their complaints,” he said.
Sec. 12 of the Magna Carta enumerates the eight rights of airline passengers, including: a) right to full information) right to fair and reasonable air fare; c) right to receive the full value of the service purchased; d) right against discrimination; e) right against unjust vexation; f) right to be r0espected; g) right to compensation; and h) right to redress of grievances.
“The Magna Carta also clearly specified compensation for death, which is P3 million and depending on the physical injuries ranging from P75,000 to P1 million, these amounts were set with consideration of international practice,” Colmenares said.
Compensation for lost baggage is 3x the value of the baggage plus P20,000, for damaged baggage, 2x its value, and for delayed baggage it is P10,000 /24 hour delay plus refund of baggage fee, which also follows the international practice, said Colmenares.
Colmenares said P50,000 compensation will also be paid directly to the passenger whose right is violated.
