Dealing with flight cancellations today due to a typhoon? We may not have Thor, Storm or any weather-controlling superheroes on our team. But, we’ve got loads of information and tips, when dealing with flight cancellations in the Philippines.
How to check if your flight is cancelled
We’re in the midst of the rainy season in the Philippines. And, while the rainy days provide a relief from the tropical heat, it does come with a few downsides. Not only will the downpours seem endless, but there will also be a wave of tropical cyclones invading our shorelines. In an article written by the Daily Inquirer, the Philippine Red Cross is even urging everyone to brace themselves for the typhoon season,. And, that means the number of flight cancellations all over the Philippines will likely skyrocket. Yikes!
In these situations, the first thing you’ve got to do is tocheck if your flight is really cancelled.
So, how to check if your flight is cancelled? Take a look atthe tips below.
Check for Philippines Airlines Cancelled Flights
Before you fly with Philippines Airlines, make it a point tocheck your flight status. And, there are a couple of ways to check if there arePhilippine Airlines cancelled flights.
- Check flight status on their website.
- PAL official hotline: If you’re calling on theday of your departure, reach out to your area’s hotline,and select the Departure and Arrival information. If, however, you’re calling aday or two after or before your flight, wait for their Customer Service representativeto help you. For faster communication, don’t forget to prepare your PAL flightnumber beforehand.
Check for Cebu Pacific Cancelled Flights
Want to know if there are any Cebu Pacific cancelledflights? Simple! Just check out CebuPacific’s travel advisory page. From Cebu Pacific flight cancellations to schedulechanges, this page has everything you need about the situations of Cebu Pacific’sflights.
Check for AirAsia Cancelled Flights
To check if your flight is cancelled, head to the airline’s flight status page, and key in your flight number. Additionally, AirAsia will notify you via email if there are flight cancellations tomorrow or today.
Speaking of monitoring flights, you might want to check outour “Price Alerts” feature. Sure, it might not monitor flight cancellations orstatus, but it helps you monitor the prices of your preferred flight route.When the price of your “subscribed flight route” goes up and down, we’llautomatically notify you about the recent change. That means you can scorecheap flights with ease to your dream destinations.
Reasons for cancelled flights in the Philippines
Airline companies in the Philippines exert a great deal ofeffort to make sure your flights depart and arrive exactly on time. But,changes in your gate assignment, terminal, aircraft and flight schedule mayhappen due to force majeure (unforeseencircumstances), including:
- Security and safety concerns
- Government regulation
- Natural calamity
- Unfavorable weather conditions
Flight cancellations caused by government regulation as wellas safety and security concerns are a rarity in the Philippines. Most flight cancellationstoday are caused by unfavorable weather conditions. And, with so many typhoonsin the Philippines during the rainy season, expect a whole lot of flights cancellationsthese days.
Also, flight cancellations may be caused problems in theairline’s carrier or system.
What happens when your flights get cancelled or delayed?
If your flight gets delayed or cancelled, it’s important to know your rights. The CAB (Civil Aeronautics Board) have a copy of the Air Passenger Bill of Rights publicly available on their website. We went ahead and sifted through the essential parts below.
Flight delays
Airline companies are required to provide meals or refreshments if there’s a terminal delay of at least three hours, following the departure time. Furthermore, passengers are entitled to sending emails and texts for free. See CAB’s policy on flight delays below:
Flight cancellations
CAB also has regulations for flight cancellations. If the airline is at fault for the cancelled flight, every passenger who has already arrived at the airport should be provided with sufficient meals and replacements, hotel accommodation, and other compensation. See CAB’s policy on flight cancellations below:
In addition, passengers can enjoy the same endorsement, rebookingand reimbursement privileges as a flight delay.
Exemptions from liability
Are you entitled to free hotel accommodation for every flight cancellation? Not quite. The agency also released amended CAB Economic Regulation No. 7 which provides exemptions from liability to compensate passengers of delayed and cancelled flights.
What this means is that in cases of unforeseen circumstances like typhoons, and other reasons where the airline is not at fault, you may still have your ticket rebooked or reimbursed. However carriers aren’t required to cover other relevant charges and fees.
So if you’re flight gets cancelled due to bad weather, you’re entitled to rebooking or refunding your flight but the airlines is not obliged to provide hotel accommodations.
By the way, airline companies have different policies, whenit comes to flight cancellations caused by forcemajeure. So, spend a couple of minutes reading the guidelines below.
Airline policies and guidelines for flight cancellations
Cebu Pacific
Cebu Pacific, dealing with flight cancellations, may opt forthese options without any penalty:
- Get a full refund.
- Convert your airline ticket into a “Travel Fund” for any future use.
- Rebook your flight for air travel within 30 days from your original departure date.
- For more information, check out their official page.
Philippine Airlines
Passengers of PAL must call their official hotline number (855-8888), visit an official ticketing office or check the Manage My Booking portal on its website. A PAL agent will, then, give you options that are in accordance with the Air Passenger Bill of Rights.
In addition, you can visit PAL’s flight cancellations and changes page here
AirAsia
Passengers of AirAsia have these options when dealing withflight cancellations.
- Get a full refund for your airline ticket.
- Convert your ticket into a credit account. You can retain your fare’s value in your AirAsia Big Loyalty account for future trips with the airline, with the credit to be used or redeemed within 90 days from its date of issue.
- Move flight. Change to a new departure date within 30 days on the same route without additional fees.
- For more information, visit here.
Important notes: This guide is based on the information we’ve found as of July 31, 2019. Moreover, we strongly recommend that you check with the airline’s policy, just to be sure.
Dealing with acancelled flight, and not comfortable with the schedule of the flight given toyour by the airline? Why not ask for a refund, and book a new flight that fitsto your schedule and preference?
Just don’t forget tobook your flight with Skyscanner! With Skyscanner, you can instantly and easilyscore cheap last minute flights!
