KUALA LUMPUR: Citing public support, budget carrier AirAsia promised today it will lodge a formal appeal to the government if the authorities impose the same new Passenger Service Charge (PSC) rates across the board.
AirAsia said it had yet to receive official notice from the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) on whether it would be affected by the PSC decision, but emphasised that it would be unfair for the authorities to impose higher rates on klia2 as facilities at the budget terminal were “inferior” to those at the country’s main gateway, the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang.
“If it [increase in PSC] turns out to be true we will on behalf of our guests and the people, submit appeals to the Government of Malaysia to remove such increase in the tax,” Aireen Omar, chief executive officer of AirAsia Berhad said in a statement.
This increase in tax, she said, will be a direct burden that will be shouldered by the people, hence, making air travel more expensive and reducing overall demand for services offered by all airlines operating in Malaysia.
This, she said, will crimped tourism, threatened jobs and hurt the economy. “Malaysia will also lose its competitiveness as a regional low cost hub,” she said.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the increase in PSC will be implemented on January 1, next year.
Liow, who was reported as saying that the new charges as considerably lower than to other countries, said there will be no discrimination in Malaysia policies when asked if both KLIA and KLIA 2 will be affected from the move. Liow said Mavcom had presented their views to the ministry and the matter was discussed in the Cabinet yesterday.
