AirAsia (AK, Kuala Lumpur International) has blamed temporary data synchronisation issues with flight pricing partners for a spike in the price of tickets sold in the Philippines after the government moved to block AirAsia MOVE, the company's online travel agency, from selling tickets.

On June 2, 2025, Filipino Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon called the sixfold price rise on flights to and from Tacloban following the closure of an important bridge to heavy vehicles, "absurd" and "criminal."

“We will really put the full force of the law on these unscrupulous online platforms who are taking advantage of our people,” he said at a news conference. Dizon added that he had tasked the cybercrime unit of the Philippine National Police with blocking AirAsia MOVE, and the Civil Aeronautics Board had issued a cease and desist order.

AirAsia MOVE is owned by the Malaysian AirAsia entity, which, in turn, is ultimately controlled by Capital A. According to the AirAsia website, MOVE includes online travel services such as flight bookings from over 700 airlines, including the AirAsia carriers. The local AirAsia carrier, AirAsia Philippines (Manila Ninoy Aquino International), has a 10.64% market share by capacity in the Philippines. The Malaysian AirAsia carrier also services the Philippines, albeit on a smaller scale.

"As an online travel agency, MOVE displays flight inventory and pricing data as provided by its authorised upstream suppliers, including third-party aggregators and global distribution system," said MOVE CEO Nadia Omer. "This technical discrepancy caused by the third-party provider is not isolated to MOVE as it also affected other booking platforms across the industry, including Agoda, Kiwi.com, and Traveloka."

The Civil Aeronautics Board sets a ceiling on domestic airfares and says MOVE's ticket prices on the Tacloban-Manila city pair exceeded the maximum allowable fare. Omer says the platform has taken up the matter with the third-party pricing provider for immediate resolution and has taken steps to prevent any recurrence. She says MOVE is working closely with the relevant authorities and is fully compliant with all regulatory requirements for online travel agencies operating in the Philippines.