A lawyer has raised concerns on social media after her friend was allegedly charged P1,000 by a local airline due to a one-character discrepancy in the passenger’s name, which she said stemmed from a booking system limit.

In a Facebook post dated February 14, Atty. Race Del Rosario, RN, said her friend was not allowed to check in for a scheduled flight unless she paid the amount. According to Atty. Del Rosario, the airline cited a rule stating that the passenger’s name in the booking must match the name on the identification card.

Atty. Del Rosario explained that her friend’s given name contains 21 characters, while the airline’s online booking system only allows up to 20 characters. As a result, the final letter of the name was omitted in the reservation, creating a one-letter difference compared with the name reflected on her friend’s ID.

Because of the discrepancy, Atty. Del Rosario said her friend was required to pay P1,000 before being permitted to check in. She added that they later contacted the airline’s customer service hotline to request a refund but were denied.

“We were told it is a rule,” Atty. Del Rosario wrote in her post. However, she said that when she asked whether the policy was stated in the airline’s terms and conditions, the customer service agent allegedly could not confirm.

Atty. Del Rosario questioned the fairness of the policy, particularly in cases where the discrepancy results from system limitations rather than passenger error. She also asked what would happen to travelers who might not have extra funds available at the airport.

“Good thing my friend could afford to pay,” she wrote. “But what if someone has only enough money for the trip? ”

Images attached to the post show what appears to be a booking confirmation page with the passenger’s shortened name and masked booking details. The post has since drawn reactions from social media users, some of whom shared similar experiences involving name corrections and corresponding fees.

As of posting time, the airline had not publicly responded to the concerns raised in Atty. Del Rosario’s post.

H/T: Atty. Race del Rosario, RN | Facebook