The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has ordered AirAsia MOVE, the online booking arm of Malaysia-based AirAsia, to cease selling airline tickets in the Philippines due to reports of alleged fare overcharging.

In a press conference on Monday, June 2, Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon stated that Leyte 4th District Rep. Richard Gomez had alerted him about the platform’s high ticket prices.

Based on a booking done last weekend, a Philippine Airlines (PAL) ticket from Tacloban to Manila for two passengers was listed for as much as ₱77,720 in AirAsia Move.

Booking directly on the flag carrier’s website showed that the one ticket cost just around ₱12,100 during the same period.

“So clearly, this is just absurd. What AirAsia MOVE is doing is criminal,” said Dizon.

Dizon suggested that the platform could have increased its fare “to take advantage” of the state of emergency across various areas in Eastern Visayas following the load restrictions at the San Juanico Bridge.

“Alam na mayroong crisis doon at hirap ‘yung movement ng goods and ng people, dahil nga sa partial closure ng San Juanico. Kaya clearly, mayro’ng nag-take advantage,” the secretary said.

(It’s known that there’s a crisis there and that the movement of goods and people is difficult because of the partial closure of San Juanico. So clearly, someone took advantage.)

“We will really put the full force of the government of the law on these unscrupulous online platforms who are taking advantage of our people,” he added.

Dizon has asked the cybercrime unit of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to take down AirAsia Move’s website and mobile application as part of the cease-and-desist order by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB).

The CAB, which sets the ceiling of airfare prices in the country, earlier flagged AirAsia MOVE for “unauthorized sale of airline tickets for carriers in the Philippines at prices exceeding the approved fare structures.”

It asked the platform to stop offering, promoting, or selling such tickets.

In its response to the agency, AirAsia MOVE said it would comply with the order. However, it argued that as a foreign-based online travel agent, it is not under the jurisdiction of the CAB.

CAB Executive Director Carmelo Arcilla has since clarified that while the platform is not under the agency’s jurisdiction, the matter of airfare is within its mandate.

“For domestic services, we approve fares because it's required by law. We set the ceiling and when that ceiling is violated by an entity, even if they are not defined under our jurisdiction, they come within our enforcement,” said Arcilla.

Arcilla added that unreasonable prices on the platform could be considered price gouging on the account that the price hike is not justified by supply and demand given the current situation in Eastern Visayas.

As of writing, AirAsia MOVE’s website remains accessible, with tickets for Tacloban to Manila costing around ₱10,000.

Dizon, meanwhile, said the government will file a case for economic sabotage against the company over the reported overpricing.

He has also ordered the CAB to investigate other instances of high pricing on other destinations in the country.

In a statement sent to the media, AirAsia MOVE emphasized that it “does not manually set or manipulate airfares.”

“As an online travel agency, [AirAsia] MOVE displays flight inventory and pricing data as provided by its authorized upstream suppliers, including third-party aggregators and Global Distribution Systems,” said Asia Move Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nadia Omer.

“The discrepancies in fare displays for certain routes, including domestic flights operated by [PAL], were caused by temporary data synchronization issues with flight pricing partners,” she added.

According to AirAsia MOVE, these technical discrepancies is not isolated to the platform as it also affected the likes of Agoda, Kiwi.com, and Traveloka.

Nonetheless, Omer said the company will fully cooperate with the government to uphold fair pricing and consumer protection.

Omer said steps have been taken to prevent any future recurrence of excessive fairs.

The Malaysia-based AirAsia MOVE is an affiliate of budget carrier AirAsia Philippines.