Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III on Thursday, November 7, urged the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to adopt the United States’ policy of requiring airlines to conduct automatic refunds for all canceled and/or delayed flights. 

Pimentel made the call after the US Department of Transportation adopted the policy which took effect on Monday, mandating airlines to provide cash refunds without passengers needing to request them.

The rule also includes provisions for delayed baggage, allowing passengers to claim refunds for bag fees if their luggage isn’t delivered within a specific timeframe.

“Sana all (I hope we all can do this),” the Senate minority chief quipped.

“I hope that Filipino travelers could benefit from similar passenger protections. Both local and international travelers should be reimbursed for the inconvenience caused by flight delays and cancellations,” Pimentel said.

He said doing so will eventually subject airlines to be “on their toes” to provide better services to travelers.

Pimentel noted flight delays have become so common in the Philippines that the term is almost synonymous with certain airlines.

He cited the incident last May 20, where at least 38 domestic flights and 21 international flights were delayed, and 3 flights were canceled, due to “software issues” concerning the Air Traffic Management Center, affecting about 9,240 passengers.

As a lawyer, Pimentel said airlines should be held accountable for all delays in flights and luggage arrival, saying it is “social injustice if the government does nothing to address the recurring problems.

“What we want to prevent is to ruin what should be a good and pleasant experience, travel or vacation, by making these airlines accountable and ensuring that passengers get a refund without delay,” the lawmaker said.