Increase in aviation grievances

Mavcom: 858 complaints of bad service from air passengers

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) has recorded a 38.1% increase in consumer complaints from January to June this year.

There were 858 complaints – 846 on airlines and 12 on airports. The same period last year saw 621 complaints.

Mavcom attributes this to an improved level of awareness among travellers on their rights.

The top three complaints were mishandled baggage (214), processing of refunds (148) and flight delays (131).

Mavcom executive chairman Dr Nungsari Ahmad Radhi (pic) said Mavcom successfully resolved 99.4% of the complaints where 53% of the resolved complaints resulted in the airlines reversing its initial decision in favour of the consumers.

“While we are tasked with the economic regulation of the aviation sector, our mandate includes protecting the interests of consumers as well.

“We are glad to note a marked improvement in the level of consumer awareness,” he said.

Dr Nungsari added for every one million passengers, Mavcom received an average of 20 complaints.

The highest number was on Malaysia Airlines with 427 complaints, a 34.7% increase over the same six-month period last year when 317 complaints were received.

AirAsia and Malindo Air came in at second and third respectively, with 192 and 119 complaints.

There is an increase of 58.7% in complaints against AirAsia while Malindo Air registered a 12.3% increase.

The report also detailed Mavcom’s latest consumer-centric initiative – FlySmart – in line with its efforts to heighten the level of awareness among consumers.

The consumer report, which provides consumer feedback to the service providers in the industry as a means for them to improve levels of service quality, is released on a bi-annual basis.

It is now available on www. mavcom.my.

While we are tasked with the economic regulation, our mandate includes protecting the interests of consumers as well. Dr Nungsari Ahmad Radhi