House leader calls for passage of bill on air passengers’ rights

In a statement on Saturday, Bagong Henerasyon Partylist Rep. Bernadette Hererra-Dy said the House tranportation committee has yet to tackle the Air Passenger Bill of Rights (Supannee Hickman / Shutterstock)

MANILA — A lawmaker has called on the House of Representatives to fast-track the approval of a measure seeking to uphold and protect the rights of air passengers.

In a statement on Saturday, Bagong Henerasyon Partylist Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy said the House transportation committee has yet to tackle the Air Passenger Bill of Rights.

Herrera-Dy, however, expressed hope that the lower chamber can pass the measure on final reading by November and be enacted into law by February or March next year.

“Holiday air travel season is fast approaching. The “ber” months begin today and another long weekend starts again. With high air passenger volume often comes problems of delays and cancelled flights,” Herrera-Dy said.

“I urge my colleagues in the House Transportation Committee to urgently tackle the Air Passenger Bill of Rights, move it forward, and hopefully pass the bill on third reading before the end of November,” she added.

The lawmaker pointed out that several bills on air passengers’ rights are pending in the House, as well as in the Senate.”The public has long been waiting for this to become law,” she said.

Herrera-Dy, who is chair of the House Committee on Public Information, authored House Bill 6056 that seeks to inject accountability, processes and swift response to problems that arise at our airports and on airplanes.

Some of the rights to be granted to passengers once HB 6056 becomes a law include the right to receive full value of the service purchased; right to be provided with accurate information before purchase; right to compensation in case of flight delay or cancellation; right to compensation in case of delayed, lost, or damaged baggage; right to compensation in case of death or bodily injury of a passenger; and right to immediate payment of compensation.