Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 10) While airlines have yet to fully recover from the pandemic, their losses from the hours-long shutdown of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) already reached more than ₱100 million, the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) said.
CAB Executive Director Carmelo Arcilla disclosed this during the hearing of the House Committee on Transportation on Tuesday.
Hundreds of domestic and international flights were canceled or delayed due to the technical mishap and power outage experienced on New Year’s Day at the country’s main airport.
Although operations were restored in the afternoon of Jan. 1, air carriers had to mount recovery flights for thousands of stranded passengers.
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Airlines could consider the incident force majeure, Arcilla said, as the situation was out of their control.
Companies earlier said affected passengers have the chance to rebook flights within 60 days from their original planned date with no additional fees. Travelers may also opt to refund or convert their tickets to a travel voucher, they added.
“We have to admit that ‘yung mga losses ng mga individuals affected by the glitch ay mailap. Pinipilit naming magkaron ng reference values,” Arcilla said.
[Translation: We have to admit that the losses of the individuals affected by the glitch are elusive. We’re trying to have reference values.]
On whether the government can claim force majeure on the NAIA crisis, Arcilla said the investigation is ongoing.
