When we are in the check in counter for Cebu Pacific in Dubai airport terminal 1, to board for our flight no. 5J7945 Dubai to Manila, the staff told us that our names are not found on the system for confirmed passengers. According to the staff, the system "crashed" and they have no access to confirm our names. She informed us that there is no possible way that we could board our flight, and asked us to come back the next day, same time to be able to depart to Manila. Another option they provided was to book another flight on a different airline, and pay the amount due at our cause and promised to get a refund after. I refused and insisted if they could book us on the same flight instead to lessen the inconvenience.
They double checked with the airport authority and confirmed that this is possible and took an amount of 2400 AED from us. They took our mobile numbers, provided an electronic ticket without any receipt but promised a refund. This is a big inconvenience to any passenger and it has caused us a lot of tension if we have missed our flight. They should have informed us at least earlier so we could prepare for an alternative plan. Such a disappointment.