The Philippines government has ordered AirAsia’s digital platform to halt ticket sales after complaints of illegally high fares, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

Cited Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon, the news agency reported that Philippine authorities have directed police to take down AirAsia Move’s website under a cease-and-desist order issued by the Civil Aeronautics Board.

The aviation regulator, which sets airfare price caps, said the company raised ticket prices in response to transport disruptions in Tacloban City caused by the closure of a key bridge to trucks.

“We will really put the full force of the law on these unscrupulous online platforms who are taking advantage of our people,” Dizon said, adding that authorities will move to immediately file a case for “criminal economic sabotage.”

In a statement on Monday, AirAsia MOVE affirmed its full cooperation with the Philippine government to uphold transparent and fair pricing and consumer protection.

MOVE also clarified that it does not manually set or manipulate airfares in light of the fare discrepancy issues.

It highlighted that as an online travel agency (OTA), MOVE displays flight inventory and pricing data as provided by its authorized upstream suppliers, including third-party aggregators and global distribution systems (GDS).

It explained that 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.

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.

As a matter of due diligence, upon identifying the issue, it said MOVE took immediate steps and brought up the matter with the third-party pricing provider for immediate resolution.

MOVE also took steps to further enhance safeguards to prevent any future recurrence, it added.

It also said MOVE has been working closely with relevant authorities and is fully compliant with all regulatory requirements applicable to OTAs operating in the Philippines.

MOVE also said it 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.

“MOVE continues to support the Philippines’ tourism agenda through digital innovation, strategic partnerships, and enhanced connectivity,” it said.

According to the statement, since its launch in the Philippines, the firm has seen strong and sustained growth in travel bookings, with 85 percent of this momentum driven by domestic destinations such as Manila, Cebu, and Boracay.

“As an ASEAN-focused brand, we have facilitated inbound travel to the Philippines from across the region, contributing to a 28 percent year-on-year increase in international flight bookings into the country,” it said.

AirAsia MOVE’s EBITDA grows by 10 percent on year in the first quarter despite lower revenue