SUBANG JAYA: MYAirline will refund all passengers and pay employees’ salaries by the end of this year, says its Interim Accountable Executive Datuk Seri Azharuddin Rahman.
According to him, the company and its staff were “let down” by previous investors without prior notice.
Azharuddin revealed that MYAirline did not have a contingency plan to resolve its financial issues, adding that the company is unable to commit to a timeline on when it can resume operations.
“God willing, we will issue all the refunds and pay the salaries of our employees this year. This comprises a total of 125,000 passengers, involving RM22mil (in tickets purchased).
“We understand everyone’s frustration. We did not see this coming. We were let down by the pull-out of our investors and that happened on Oct 11 at 4.30pm.
“They came a few days before and talked to us but on that day (Oct 11) at 4.30pm, they just said ‘no deal’ and left us in a lurch. This situation arose due to our lack of a contingency plan, compounded by a last-minute investor withdrawal.
“I’m not going to dwell on it anymore but that’s the story behind it,” he said during a press conference at the MYAirline headquarters here on Monday (Oct 16).
When asked why the investors pulled out, he simply said: “We don’t know”.
Asked about a timeline on when MYAirline would secure new investors, Azharuddin said the company is in the final stage of negotiations.
“It’s just a matter of time,” he said.
Azharuddin said once the airline received new funding from its new investors, it will promptly issue refunds to affected passengers and pay the salaries of its workers.
“Staff welfare remains our top priority. As soon as funding is secured, we will prioritise statutory payments and the staff's September salaries.
“It is important to note that all staff members remain under MYAirline employment, with no one placed on unpaid leave or terminated to date,” he added.
On the air service licence (ASL), Azharuddin said MYAirline’s is due to be renewed in middle of November and it has submitted an application to extend the licence, adding that the company has yet to receive an official letter on its licence suspension.
Azharuddin said MYAirline acknowledged its communication shortcomings with both the Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) and the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM).
He said this was specifically in regard to the airline’s failure to engage with authorities and passengers in a timelier manner before deciding to temporarily suspend its operations.
“The abrupt action was taken out of a genuine concern for the safety of our passengers and employees on a flight that operated from Wednesday night to early Thursday morning.
“We issued the suspension notice at 5.30am on Thursday morning. While we promptly canceled the morning wave flights on Thursday, we acknowledge that some passengers on later flights were already at the airport, and this was an oversight on our part.”
