Cebu Pacific flight cancellations disrupt 9k passengers; 13k more may be affected this month

Cebu Pacific's cancellation of several flights since April has so far affected over 9,000 passengers, GMA News' Sandra Aguinaldo reported Thursday on State of the Nation with Jessica Soho.

More cancellations from May 1 to May 10, 2019 are seen to affect as many as 13,000 more passengers, the report said.

After the three-hour meeting between the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) and Cebu Pacific on Tuesday, it was reported that the airline company hopes to resolve the issue by the end of the month, adding that flights will be reduced at least 10 flights per day for this month to give way for an operational recovery.

The airline cited efforts to rationalize flight operations to improve "on-time performance" and sustainably reduce passenger inconvenience.

"They said that they needed these cancellations in order for them to have some kind of pace by which to improve the on-time performance...About manpower issues, it's just that the reserves were exhausted because of this problem on on-time performance," CAB executive director Carmelo Arcilla told reporters.

The Board will look into a technical report submitted by Cebu Pacific, as well as monitor complaints against the airline.

Arcilla also said that while there has long been a congestion of flights at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), it has yet to be determined whether this was the cause in Cebu Pacific's issue.

The airline, on the other hand, reassured its passengers that it is the airline'sir priority to assist disrupted passengers.

"We are very, very, very, sorry," Cebu Pacific corporate communications director Charo Logarta-Lagamon said in the report.

"We really apologize to the passengers na amin pong na-agrabyado, 'yung amin pong naabala at naperwisyo pero wala po kaming choice kung 'di ito po 'yung gawin para po sa ikabubuti ng mas nakakaraming pasahero po ng Cebu Pacific," she added. — BAP, GMA News