Comedian Red Ollero shared his unpleasant experience as a passenger on a budget airline, as he sought assistance after the flight meant to take him back to the Philippines from Thailand was disrupted.
The stand-up comedian said on Monday, March 23, that they were scheduled to fly from Bangkok to Manila via Cebu Pacific on Sunday, March 22, but were instead told to deplane.
They were also sent to a hotel and instructed to await further updates on when they could board another flight.
He described the incident as a “clusterf*** of crisis management,” adding that “it was handled terribly” and “people in charge were just yelling instructions” at them.
“So after we were traumatized, we were sent to the hotel supposedly to rest, but, were all unable to because Cebu Pacific was very unclear with when the flight is. No official email was sent til very late. And before that time, we were just left to asking help from hotel staff if they heard anything from CebPac,” Red wrote.
By Monday morning, they were told to check in and complete the entire process again before flying.
“Tapos nakaupo na ulit lahat — biglang pumreno na naman ang eroplano. HOURS PASS and nagre-reklamo na kami na sana ‘wag mangyari ‘yung nangyari kahapon. Pero wala, apparently, CEBU PACIFIC NEVER REPLACED THE AIRCRAFT. They let us just back the same sh**** airplane na may PANIBAGO na naman daw na problema,” the comedian wrote.
Red added that they were once again told to deplane and were left at the mercy of airport staff in Bangkok, who were also “powerless” to help them.
“Sinabihan kami na pwede mag-rebook, pwede mag-refund, pero ‘di rin nila kinaklaro kung paano. Hinihingi din ng ilan na makuha na lang bagahe nila para maka-book na ng ibang flight at maka-uwi na — HINDI RIN KAMI MATULUNGAN DITO,” the comedian wrote.
“SO ANO NA, kahit kami na gagastos ng panibago pauwi, ‘di pa rin namin magawa kasi walang tumutulong samin dito. Puro wait lang. Pinabayaan niyo nanaman kami, pangalawang araw na. Penge naman konting urgency sa pagtulong!!!” he added.
“Sinasabihan lang kami na, we’re waiting for MANILA to decide,” Red wrote.
By Monday afternoon, Red said in the comments section that they had finally landed in Manila “with a completely different plane and crew.”
He added that they also had to wait a long time to retrieve their baggage upon arrival.
Shortly after updating his post in the comments, Cebu Pacific’s Facebook page addressed his concerns.
“Thank you for bringing this to our attention and we understand your sentiment regarding your flight experience. We would like to inform you that we have forwarded this to our team for checking and we would appreciate it if you could share more details about your concern with us such as your booking details,” it commented.
“Please submit your concern through our Guest Feedback Form at https://www.cebupacificair.com/en-PH/about/talk-to-us/guest-feedback-form. Once you’ve completed the form and received your case reference number, kindly share it with us so we can review your concern accordingly. We appreciate your patience and understanding – SS,” the airline added.
As of March 23, the airline said it would “implement temporary network adjustments, including frequency reductions and flight cancellations, in response to the Middle East crisis.”
“These changes are driven by the impact of the crisis on global fuel prices, which have more than doubled compared with the 2025 averages,” the budget carrier added.
Global oil prices have risen sharply as suppliers in the Middle East encounter difficulties transporting their products amid military strikes between the United States, Israel, and Iran.
