Philippine Airlines (PAL) has refunded P12.72 Billion, 80 percent of the more than P15.9 billion ($300 million) COVID-related refund requests from passengers to date.
Currently, PAL has restored 15 percent of its regular domestic and global network and intends to ramp up to more flights and more routes as governments ease travel and quarantine restrictions. Â
Now, the airline is doing everything to cope with the massive deluge of refund requests after the global pandemic forced it to cancel more than 60,000 flights since March 2020,.
The flight cancellations affected over 1.3 million passengers and the loss of revenues deprived PAL of liquidity to make prompt refund payments.
Lockdown restrictions also posed serious staffing and logistical limitations to PAL.
"We assure our customers of our commitment to fulfill all refund obligations and sincerely apologize for the long processing time many of you have experienced," PAL said in a statement.
The airline has progressively stepped up its processing capabilities to address the system backlogs. Â
"We recognize that this has taken some time, and we appreciate your understanding as we continue to resolve these challenges over the coming months," according to the flag carrier.