MAHB’s new Billing Portal to facilitate PSC payment

SEPANG: The newly-developed Online Billing Portal is one of the methods to strategically ensure that all airline operators will not have problems to service their passenger service charges (PSC), said Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd Managing Director, Datuk Badlisham Ghazali.

He said prior to the online billing service, the airport operator issued some 400 invoices to carriers on a monthly basis.

“We are working with all airlines (on this), and we hope some of these issues can be resolved through the billing portal,” he told a media briefing here, yesterday.

He said MAHB was also planning to address other issues in phases, including relooking into the methods of payment.

Badlisham also refuted allegations claiming that RM70 million was owed by Malindo Airways Sdn Bhd to MAHB, but he reiterated that it was only outstanding, considering that the accumulated figure was within the same fiscal year.

“Airlines like Malindo are going through heavy growth phase, which is good for Malaysia. When you’re facing these kind of situations...as they grow, these inefficiencies do catch up…that’s why we have the billing portal so that the airlines cannot say they haven’t received the invoices.

“Remember that the airlines not only fly through KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport) but also through other Malaysian airports. Different airports provide different invoices. So, these are efficiencies that we are trying to put in place so that all airlines, not only Malindo, will know what is current, what to pay,” he said.

Badlisham said that no airline that operated in Malaysia had ever failed to service their yearly payments to MAHB, except those which had stopped their operations in the country.

It was reported initially that Malindo had accumulated PSC arrears of close to RM70 million, however, the Deputy Transport Minister, Datuk Ab Aziz Kaprawi had clarified that the carrier had already settled RM20 million of the total outstanding amount owed to MAHB.

On the minimal charge of RM1 imposed by the Malaysian Aviation Commission to departing international passengers, Badlisham said he believed it would not affect the double-digit passenger growth recorded by the country at present.

“Anytime an actual regulated charge goes up in Malaysia, passenger traffic continues to go up as it’s not a sensitive issue...the increase (in fee) is relatively low. We’re not talking about an additional RM50 or RM100 to your ticket.

“We believe it is not going to have an impact on our passenger growth,” he added. — Bernama