Mavcom: Airlines Must Offer Passengers Refunds For Flight Delays Of Five Hours Or More

By Abdul Hamid A Rahman and Mikhail Raj Abdullah

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 19 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) today reiterated that airline passengers have the option of a refund of their tickets if their flight is delayed by five hours or more.

Its director of consumer and public affairs, Pushpalatha Subramaniam, said that airlines, both local and international, must offer passengers a refund in the original mode of payment.

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“This is a new option for consumers or passengers who do not wish to continue their journey or if their travel purpose is no longer relevant,” she told Bernama today.

These changes are part of the Malaysian Aviation Consumer Protection Code 2016 (MACPC) which was recently enhanced with this new provision among others and came into effect on Sept 1, 2024.

“Although airlines can still provide credit shells and travel vouchers, the first option presented must be a refund in the original payment method. Ultimately, the choice must be left to the consumer.

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“This also applies to flight disruptions beyond the airline’s control, such as bad weather conditions, air traffic control (ATC) restrictions and natural disasters like major eruptions or earthquakes, or other circumstances that makes travel to the destination impossible,” she said this after an interview on The Nation programme on Bernama TV today hosted by Jessy Chahal.

The enhanced code contains several significant changes to strengthen consumer rights and ensure greater transparency and accountability within the aviation industry.

Pushpalatha said that if consumers choose not to proceed with their journey, airlines must provide a mandatory refund of the fuel surcharge, taxes, fees, and charges such as the departure levy, passenger service charges (PSC) and carbon fee. 

“This applies to both refundable and non-refundable tickets,” she said.

She also said that consumers must now be informed at least two weeks in advance about any change in the scheduled time of departure (STD).

“Airlines are allowed to make changes to the STD due to technical and adverse weather issues.

“However, for commercial reasons, they are no longer allowed to make changes to the STD within two weeks of the departure date,” she said.

She said that MAVCOM monitors compliance with this provision through consumer complaints and data submitted by airlines, which are required to report to the commission on a monthly basis.

“Under Section 22 of the MACPC, if airlines do not comply, financial penalties may be imposed.

“Depending on the nature and extent of any non-compliance with the MACPC, airlines may face a financial penalty of up to RM200,000 for the first offence and 10 times the penalty for a second or subsequent non-compliance,” she said.

She added that, cumulatively, MAVCOM has imposed financial penalties amounting to RM4.85 million on airlines for non-compliance with the MACPC.

The code also mandates that all cancelled flights must be promptly removed from all booking platforms, including those operated by online and offline travel agents, a measure designed to protect consumers from purchasing tickets for unavailable flights.

In cases of overbooking, airlines must inform consumers at the check-in counter or departure gate if they are being denied from boarding the flight, but MAVCOM said the offloading of consumers who have already boarded the flight is prohibited. 

Besides this, the timeframe for consumers to submit complaints has been extended from one year to two years, allowing more time for consumers to seek redress for issues related to their air travel.

However, consumers are encouraged to lodge a complaint as soon as they encounter a flight disruption, MAVCOM said.

-- BERNAMA