HOLIDAY economics interrupted.
Filipinos cheering the holidays declared from November 16 to 18 (Monday to Wednesday) due to the 49th Asean Summit are now mad as hell after their flights were canceled for the same reason they booked their trips. Malacañang declared the holidays for the National Capital Region last September 22, thus giving bakasyonistas a five-day ‘weekend.’
Much of the exasperation has been aimed at Cebu Pacific Airways (CEB), as it operates mainly at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) passenger terminal 3, where the aircraft of arriving foreign leaders will be parked.
‘Basically, the parking bays [at Naia-3] were reduced to accommodate the dignitaries’ planes,’ said a source from the New Naia Infrastructure Corp. (NNIC), the company that manages the Naia. ‘This is a government-led initiative,’ the source explained, adding that the exact number of flights has yet to be finalized, ‘as there will still be a meeting on that with the slot committee.’
CEB started emailing its affected passengers on October 23, informing them of the flight adjustments, even before the Civil Aeronautics Bureau (CAB) issued its advisory stating that, ‘the arrival of Asean delegates may necessitate temporary flight and airport operational adjustments, and enhanced security measures which may affect airline flight schedules and airport operations.’
CAB Advisory
The CAB advisory on the Asean flight adjustments, signed by Executive Director Carmelo L. Arcilla, was issued on Monday, October 26. He advised airlines to review their flight schedules and ‘coordinate with relevant airport authorities, and ensure that any flight changes or adjustments are reasonably necessary to minimize public inconvenience.’
He also told carriers to immediately notify passengers of the flight adjustments and status at the ‘earliest opportunity’ and ‘strictly adhere to the provisions of the Air Passenger of Bill of Rights,’ regarding passenger entitlements.
Complaints on social media erupted over the weekend after passengers received CEB’s Asean flight adjustments advisory. @EngagingChestnut on Facebook account DIY Philippines said: ‘GRABE! just received an email from CEBU PAC. Naka book na kami ng hotel namin ng Boracay. Pano ba ‘to? Grabe!
One @HoneroChristian said on X: ‘Seryoso ba to @CebuPacificAir I can no longer move my leave as this is a long weekend holiday with family. :(‘
@Winterrifics said, for her part, ‘@CebuPacificAir we have already booked our hotels and activities. if you knew you were hosting Asean why are you only canceling flights now. could have just made those unavailable before? just kill me oh my god.’
An industry source who requested anonymity said, ‘Of course people started booking trips when the holidays were announced. This should have been better managed.’
Over 21 foreign planes expected
CEB’s email to its passengers says: ‘The Philippines will be hosting the 49th Asean Summit from November 16 to 18, 2026. To accommodate the event, [Naia-3] has reduced the number of available aircraft parking bays.’ The airline offers several options for passengers such as the rebooking of their trips, converting the booking on a non-expiring Travel Fund, or an outright refund.
Spared from the Asean flight adjustments are Philippine Airlines, which operates out of Naia-2, and Air Asia Philipines, which uses Naia-1 and Naia-2 for its international and domestic flights, respectively.
A document on the proposed aircraft parking at Naia-3 shown to this paper indicated 21 expected aircraft carrying leaders from Asean, the United States, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.
NNIC expects that some countries will have ‘more than one plane’ as in the case of the US delegation, which will be headed by President Trump.
The decrease in available aircraft parking bays at Naia-3 has resulted in the reduction of about 20 percent of CEB flights at the Naia-3, said a separate source. This has forced the carrier to consolidate many of its flights, thus resulting in the cancelation of domestic flights from Manila to 19 destinations, and from Manila to seven international destinations.
The CAB advised air passengers to ‘closely monitor the status of their flights, including any official government and airline advisories for travel updates and coordinate directly with their airlines for any alternative options.’