Airlines need to provide full refund for delays of five hours and more - Loke

PUTRAJAYA - Airlines are required to offer consumers the option of a full refund for flight delays of five hours and more to passengers who do not wish to continue their journey effective Sept. 2

Transport Minister Anthony Loke said that was among the new improvements in the Malaysian Aviation Consumer Protection Code 2016 (MACPC) implemented by the Ministry of Transport through the Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) which will be gazetted this September.

"For flight disruptions caused by extraordinary circumstances, airlines are required to first offer a refund in the original mode of payment.

"Airlines can also offer alternative reimbursement modes such as travel vouchers or credit shells. However, users have the right to choose the refund mode they want," he said in a press conference here today.

He said the refund period to users is for 30 days and it depends on the payment method that the passenger has used.

He said, other improvements in the MACPC are mandatory refunds of fuel surcharges, taxes, fees and charges such as emission levies, Passenger Service Charges (PSC), carbon fees, and others.

"This applies to tickets that have a refund value (refundable ticket) and tickets that do not have a refund value (non-refundable ticket) for flights that are not taken by the user," he said.

Through the new improvements, Loke said all cancelled flights must be removed from all booking systems, including online and offline travel agent platforms.

"Any denied boarding due to overbooking of flight must be notified to the customer at the check-in counter or at the departure gate. Denying users who have boarded the aircraft is prohibited.

"The time limit for consumers to submit complaints has now been extended from one year to two years," he said.

Effective January next year, Loke said consumers must be notified of any change in the Scheduled Departure Time (STD) at least two weeks before the actual departure time unless it is due to extraordinary circumstances or unavoidable technical problems.

He said failure to comply with the MACPC could result in a maximum financial penalty of RM200,000, and in the case of a second or subsequent non-compliance, an amount 10 times the first financial penalty would be imposed.

He said a total of RM 4.7 million in penalties had been imposed on airlines for failing to comply with the MACPC since 2016.

He said through the improvement of the MACPC, aviation users can be assured of enhanced protection for air travel.

"MAVCOM will also continue to monitor the performance of airlines to ensure compliance with industry benchmarks that have been set for the benefit of consumers," he said. - BERNAMA