OFW offloaded from flight, loses three days salary

An insider from Change.org informed the Diary that a Filipina on her way back to her workplace in China was offloaded from a flight that an airline overbooked. Pam (last name not revealed) and two other OFWs were shocked to learn from the ground crew that they could only fly to their destination if they convinced other passengers onboard to give up their seats.

Pam’s friend, Alex Mandigma, started a petition for economic justice for air passengers, says Change.org representatives. The petition is addressed to DOTC Secretary Mar Roxas to limit overbooking in airlines operating in the country. The current overbooking limit is 10%, says Mandigma.

In response to this issue, the DOTC started holding a public hearing this week. The legislation change will force airlines to offer passengers a refund if they are not given seats for flights booked.

Pam lost three days salary for not making it to China on time. The two others begged other passengers to give up their seats but it was in vain since these passengers had business to take care of as well. Like Pam, the other two OFWs lost a lot of time and money.