Foreigners Detained After Unruly Behaviour on Cebu Pacific Flight
A group of three Caucasian tourists were arrested on July 6, 2013 for being unruly aboard a Cebu Pacific flight from Cebu to Manila. The flight was nearly an hour delayed departing from Mactan Cebu International Airport leading to the frustration of passengers.
According to Rio Rose Ribaya, a Yahoo Correspondent, that was on board the same flight, the group was issued red and yellow cards for bullying the cabin crew and picking fights with passengers.
Cards are issued by cabin crew as a means to enforce order while the aircraft is in transit. Yellow cards are issued as initial warnings to passengers misbehaving while red cards are the most severe of warnings and can result in the arrest or detention of a passenger upon arrival at the airport.
One of the on board female flight attendants recalled details of the incident. "Parang nakainom po sila at nagpapatugtog ng malakas na music sa iPhone nila. Nung may nagrereklamo nang mga pasahero, lalo pa silang nag-ingay. After namin silang pagsabihan, nang-aaway na sila. Binabato nila lahat ng old issues (ng Cebu Pacific) kaya binigyan namin sila ng cards.”
One of the arrested female tourists was complaining to officers at Manila Airport that the group had an event to attend in Manila and that they were frustrated with the on-going poor service that they had experienced. But other passengers on the flight had a different story to tell. One passenger reported that the group was being rude and insisted on playing party music on the loud speaker once the fasten seatbelt sign had switched off. Efforts by the flight attendants to calm the group down throughout the flight resulted in loud, derogatory remarks.
Frequent requests were made by other passengers to use earphones but that only riled up members of the group. The disturbance to other passengers is what eventually prompted the cabin crew to be involved as members of the group were behaving rudely and arrogantly. Some passengers opted to transfer seats to get away from the group. One of the passengers observed the lone male tourist in the group demanding to be sold wine threatening the cabin crew that he would complain if they refused to serve him.
While most passengers seemed satisfied with the way Cebu Pacific staff handled the challenging situation, others suggested that it wasn't good enough. One passenger noted that it was Cebu Pacific's duty to ensure the welfare of the majority of passengers but the cabin crew were not sure what to do or how to control the situation. The passenger questioned what might have happened if the situation was more serious or threatening.
The foreign tourists eventually apologized to the crew and passengers after airport authorities threatened to subject them to a medical test. Cebu Pacific had promised passengers that they would file a formal complaint against the tourists but the Airport Police at NAIA Terminal 3 indicated that the airline reached an amicable settlement and released the passengers later that night.
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| Copyright Photo: Angelo Agcamaran/PPSG |
Cards are issued by cabin crew as a means to enforce order while the aircraft is in transit. Yellow cards are issued as initial warnings to passengers misbehaving while red cards are the most severe of warnings and can result in the arrest or detention of a passenger upon arrival at the airport.
One of the on board female flight attendants recalled details of the incident. "Parang nakainom po sila at nagpapatugtog ng malakas na music sa iPhone nila. Nung may nagrereklamo nang mga pasahero, lalo pa silang nag-ingay. After namin silang pagsabihan, nang-aaway na sila. Binabato nila lahat ng old issues (ng Cebu Pacific) kaya binigyan namin sila ng cards.”
One of the arrested female tourists was complaining to officers at Manila Airport that the group had an event to attend in Manila and that they were frustrated with the on-going poor service that they had experienced. But other passengers on the flight had a different story to tell. One passenger reported that the group was being rude and insisted on playing party music on the loud speaker once the fasten seatbelt sign had switched off. Efforts by the flight attendants to calm the group down throughout the flight resulted in loud, derogatory remarks.
Frequent requests were made by other passengers to use earphones but that only riled up members of the group. The disturbance to other passengers is what eventually prompted the cabin crew to be involved as members of the group were behaving rudely and arrogantly. Some passengers opted to transfer seats to get away from the group. One of the passengers observed the lone male tourist in the group demanding to be sold wine threatening the cabin crew that he would complain if they refused to serve him.
While most passengers seemed satisfied with the way Cebu Pacific staff handled the challenging situation, others suggested that it wasn't good enough. One passenger noted that it was Cebu Pacific's duty to ensure the welfare of the majority of passengers but the cabin crew were not sure what to do or how to control the situation. The passenger questioned what might have happened if the situation was more serious or threatening.
The foreign tourists eventually apologized to the crew and passengers after airport authorities threatened to subject them to a medical test. Cebu Pacific had promised passengers that they would file a formal complaint against the tourists but the Airport Police at NAIA Terminal 3 indicated that the airline reached an amicable settlement and released the passengers later that night.
Please don't judge all Foreigners. They should be put on a list of rude passengers. No matter how short or long the flight is. People should try to make it a pleasant flight. Even when I am at the terminal, I hear some foreigners talking about the Philippines. I be wanting to say " If you think the Philippines is so bad. Don't bring your ass back. I guess I grown to love the country. People treat me rather well.
ReplyDeleteHi Leroy.
ReplyDeleteWell said mate !!
I only discovered The Philippines as a holiday destination lsst year, and i have now been here 3 times since last October.
I am in fact, here right now (Coron, Palawan) writing this.
There are huge similarities between here and Thailand.
The most noticeable differences being that The Philippines, compared to the majority of Thailand, is largely untouched my tourism and commercialism.
The other difference, as a consequence of the above, is that the people here, especially in Palawan, are the most beatiful, gentle, humble, grateful people of any country i have been to.
It gauls me to think that foreign tourists, as those described in the above article, can come here thinking they can disrespect the local people.
To all foreign tourists, including my fellow Aussies, i say this...
Come to this country and enjoy all that it has to offer, but respect the local people as you would your own mothers.
The respect you give out will come back to you 10 fold.