The Philippines has ordered AirAsia's website to stop selling tickets after it was accused of selling at prices that violated local laws. The order was issued by Civil Aeronautics Board Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon yesterday.
AirAsia was found to have raised ticket prices above the ceiling set by the Civil Aeronautics Board after a transport issue in Tacloban City caused by a bridge closure. Philippine authorities will also file a "criminal economic sabotage" case against the AirAsia Move website that sold the tickets.
Last weekend, AirAsia sold a one-way ticket from Manila to Tacloban City for 77,000 Pesos (~RM 5890), which is three times higher than the same route offered by Philippine Airlines.
AirAsia has issued an official statement explaining that Move does not set prices manually or manipulate ticket prices. As an online travel agency platform, Move uses a third-party provider and the issue occurred due to temporary data reconciliation with its flight pricing partners. This technical discrepancy caused by a third-party provider is not limited to Move, as it also affects other booking platforms across the industry, including Agoda, Kiwi.com and Traveloka.
Move took immediate action and contacted the third-party pricing provider to resolve the issue. They are also taking steps to further enhance protections to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.