Mavcom fines MAHB RM1.18m, AirAsia RM400k

The Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) has fined airport operator Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) RM1.179 million for failing to meet quality targets for KLIA and klia2.

It has separately penalised airline group AirAsia a total of RM400,000 for failing to disclose its additional airfare charges to customers.

In a statement today, the industry regulator said it had found KLIA and klia2 to be below “several requirements” of its Airports Quality of Service Framework for the period of Jan and Mac this year.

It did not specify which requirements MAHB’s subsidiary - Malaysia Airports (Sepang) Sdn Bhd (MA Sepang) - had failed to meet.

Mavcom said it had notified the company of the fine on Sept 6.

“Upon taking MA Sepang’s written representation as well as factors submitted by MA Sepang for the purposes of mitigating the quantum of the financial penalty into consideration, the commission imposed a penalty of RM1,179,889 on MA Sepang,” it said.

Mavcom said this was in accordance to Section 98A(3)(b) of the Mavcom Act 2015 - which states the regulator could impose financial penalties not more than five percent of a corporate firm’s annual turnover for the preceding financial year for non-compliance. 

The MAHB group registered RM4.85 billion in revenue in 2018. 

RM200k each for AirAsia, AirAsia X

Meanwhile, Mavcom found both AirAsia Bhd and AirAsia X Bhd guilty of “charging credit card, debit card and online banking processing fees” separately from their base airfares.

It said this was in violation of subparagraph 3(2) of the Malaysian Aviation Consumer Protection Code 2016 (MACPC) which required airlines to fully disclose to customers any charges and fees as part of its final airfare. 

The provisions came into effect on June 1 this year.

Mavcom said it had previously issued show-cause letters to both airlines and given them chances to “mitigate” the penalty amount.

“Upon thorough evaluation and taking into consideration the written representations by the airlines, the commission has imposed on AirAsia and AirAsia X a penalty of RM200,000 each for the first violation of subparagraph 3(2) of the MACPC, for the period commencing June 1 to Aug 9, 2019,” it said, adding that the penalty notice was also issued on Sept 6.

Mavcom said this was in line with both the MACPC and Section 69(4) of the Mavcom Act 2015 - which allows the commission to impose financial penalties not exceeding RM200,000 for a first-time violation of the consumer code.