In the wake of the chaos wreaked on air travel during the pandemic, the news and social media has been filled with stories about customers complaining about Malaysian airlines’ confusing and unfair refund policies. In response to all of the gripes, the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) is suggesting changes to the Malaysian Aviation Consumer Protection Code to address the issues.
The planned changes, which are anticipated to take effect next year, include safeguards for refunds, rights of passengers, and the elimination of cancelled flights from airline reservation systems.
Saripuddin Kasim, executive chairman of Mavcom, said the changes would effectively eliminate any anomalies in the kinds of reimbursements given to customers.
“We are proposing changes to the consumer protection code to better address gaps that have come to light, particularly after the Covid-19 pandemic.
“As a regulator, it is our role to obtain feedback from consumers and the industry to ensure passengers are protected when their flights are disrupted,” he said in a statement.
According to Saripuddin, Mavcom is now engaging with stakeholders about the suggested adjustments.
The public may evaluate and comment on Mavcom’s consultation paper until November 7.
You can provide feedback by sending it via the commission’s website, emailing MACPC.consultation@mavcoom.my, or mailing it to the organisation’s headquarters.
In accordance with the Malaysian Aviation Consumer Protection Code, which went into effect in 2016, airlines are required to reimburse passengers for cancelled or drastically altered flights.
Last month, Mavcom revealed that flight rescheduling, flight cancellations, and online booking collectively contributed to 46.1% of total complaints filed against airlines for the first half of 2022.
According to the 12th issue of its bi-annual Consumer Report for the first half of 2022, AirAsia received the most complaints against airlines in the country during the first half of the year.
The low-cost carrier accounted for 42.1% of all aviation-related complaints in the period, ahead of Malaysia Airlines (40.7%) and Batik Air (7.9%).
Meanwhile, a total of 1,251 complaints were registered with Mavcom, with 99.1% complaints pertaining to airlines while 0.9% complaints were related to airports.
Mavcom said about a quarter of the complaints received led to airlines providing equitable or satisfactory resolutions to customers as a result of its review, which resulted in 87.9% of the complaints being resolved and closed.
