AirAsia MOVE, the digital platform of Malaysia-based Capital A Berhad, risks being banned in the Philippines after authorities found it charging excessive airfares during a transportation crisis in Leyte.

At a media briefing on Monday, Transportation Secretary Vivencio Dizon said a cease-and-desist order against AirAsia MOVE was issued on May 26, following a complaint from Leyte Representative Richard Gomez.

The lawmaker flagged the booking site for reportedly pricing one-way flights from Tacloban to Manila at up to P40,000 during the partial closure of the San Juanico Bridge, a key connection between Samar and Leyte.

“There’s this booking platform called AirAsia MOVE offering close to P40,000 one-way fare from Tacloban to Manila. This is totally unacceptable, this is criminal. We will put the full force of the government on this unscrupulous online platform,” Dizon said.

“We have been repeatedly saying that, as per the directive of the President, we will not allow this kind of abuse to our fellow Filipinos. We at the Department of Transportation, Civil Aeronautics Board, and the Philippine National Police will not allow it,” he added.

Despite the shared brand, Dizon clarified that budget airline AirAsia Philippines is not covered by the order, which applies solely to AirAsia MOVE.

According to Col. Rommel Batangan, the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group is working with authorities to block access to the AirAsia MOVE platform in the Philippines.

In response to the government order, AirAsia MOVE told Civil Aeronautics Board Executive Director Carmelo Arcilla in a letter that the agency has no jurisdiction over foreign-based online travel agencies like itself.

No price manipulation

In a separate statement, AirAsia MOVE CEO Nadia Omer denied manipulating airfare prices following concerns over unusually high ticket costs for Tacloban to Manila flights.

“MOVE clarifies that it does not manually set or manipulate airfares in light of the fare discrepancy issues,” she said.

Omer explained that, as an online travel agency, AirAsia MOVE displays flight inventory and pricing data from upstream suppliers, including third-party aggregators and global distribution systems.

“The discrepancies in fare displays for certain routes, including domestic flights operated by Philippine Airlines, were caused by temporary data synchronization issues with flight pricing partners,” she said.

After identifying the issue, AirAsia MOVE said it immediately raised the matter with its third-party pricing provider and took steps to resolve it. The company added that it remains fully compliant with regulatory requirements and is coordinating with authorities.

“(AirAsia) MOVE welcomes the opportunity to proactively engage with relevant authorities to provide clarity on the issue and asks for due process to take its course for the benefit of all passengers booked via the platform,” Omer said.