PETALING JAYA: Airlines have been taken to task by the Transport Ministry over flight disruption complaints by travellers during the Hari Raya holidays.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said the ministry, the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM), and the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) have been deluged with complaints from passengers, including on social media, on flight delays.
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“The government sympathises with the plight of the passengers and has sought to reduce these issues with the airlines.
“Upon consultation and investigations, the airlines involved have been instructed to immediately rectify the issues experienced by passengers and other customers.
“In the interest of safety and technical compliance with civil aviation regulations and passenger comfort, the ministry has tasked airlines to better monitor technical issues related to flight service and better communicate these issues to passengers in order to reduce inconvenience,” said Dr Wee in a statement yesterday.
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He said most of the complaints stemmed from the higher-than-usual passenger traffic during the festive season, with the airlines having to fully utilise their fleet to meet demand.
He added that aircraft with technical issues had to be taken out of service for maintenance.
“The ministry appeals to the public to remain patient and continue to give detailed feedback to airlines in order to resolve any further operational issues.
“As at May 10, all of the complaints related to rescheduling and flight backlogs have been rectified,” said Dr Wee.
He said the ministry will be keeping a close eye on aviation companies to ensure they fully comply with maintenance and technical requirements.
“Authorities have reprimanded parties involved to ensure strict compliance to technical, economic, and safety regulations, and will not hesitate to take action against operators that fail to do so,” said the minister.
He added that airlines should also improve their communication channels with their passengers and customers to keep them properly informed of the status of their flights.
Social media has been swamped with many posts by irate passengers complaining about last-minute rescheduling, particularly over the weekend.
Many expressed anger after being informed very late that their flights were delayed by a few hours, causing them to spend a longer time at crowded airports.
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In a statement yesterday, Mavcom said it received multiple complaints of airlines “making indiscriminate changes to flight schedules without adequate notice”.
In relation to this, Mavcom said it has directed the airlines to submit data regarding flight schedule disruptions from April 29 to May 9 to gain an objective and accurate view of the situation, including actual scheduled flights versus the total number of rescheduled flights.
It added that it will look into whether the airlines upheld the Malaysian Aviation Consumer Protection Code (MACPC), which was drafted to protect the interests of consumers.
“Under MACPC, airlines are required to communicate any change in flight status to consumers as soon as practicable. For delays of two hours or more, the airline must provide care including meals, telephone calls and Internet access.
“In addition, for delays of five hours or more, the airline should provide accommodation, and transport, if a stay becomes necessary. If the timing of the rescheduled flight does not meet the consumer’s purpose of travel, a refund of the flight ticket should also be made by the airline,” said Mavcom.
Mavcom executive chairman Datuk Seri Saripuddin Kasim said consumers who faced issues and did not receive the proper care should lodge an official complaint with the airline in question.
Meanwhile, AirAsia has apologised to passengers for the inconvenience caused by the rescheduling of its flights during the festive season.
AirAsia Malaysia chief executive officer Riad Asmat said several factors and unavoidable incidents resulted in delays beyond its expectations and control.
“We tried our best to ensure minimum impact to all guests and ensure everyone could arrive at their destinations soonest possible, and this included the launch of special flights to carry stranded passengers,” he said in a statement yesterday.
He said among the reason flights had to be rescheduled during the festive season was that demand for domestic flights had risen very sharply after the country’s borders were reopened on April 1.
