Fines for airports, airlines being finalised
> Aviation commission completing schedule of penalties to be implemented
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) will prepare a schedule of penalties for airlines and airports which fail to comply with its Consumer Protection Code.
Its director of consumer affairs Pushpalatha Subramaniam ( pix) said Mavcom is currently working on the schedule and is also waiting for approval for the proposed fines.
She said the fines will most likely be implemented by the third quarter of this year.
“Airlines and airports are well aware of the imposition of the fines as it had been set out in the the Malaysian Aviation Commission Act,” she said.
Section 69(4) of the Act states that the commission may impose a financial penalty not exceeding two hundred thousand ringgit for any non-compliance, and in the case of the second or subsequent non-compliance, an amount ten times the financial penalty imposed for the first non-compliance.
Pushpalatha said Mavcom will be looking at the type and merits of complaints made by consumers.
All complaints against airlines and airports will be compiled every quarter before deciding a fine should be imposed.
If there is a certain complaint that constantly crops up, then the airline will be asked to solve it. If it fails to do so, then it may face a fine.
On airports, Pushpalatha said they have a duty to provide public facilities such as elevators, escalators, walkalators and toilets.
She pointed out that most passengers are more interested in catching their flight and the facilities at the airports are just by-theway things.
Such facilities must meet a certain standard and if the passengers feel they have problems using them, then they have the right to lodge a complaint with Mavcom.
Mavcom has received very few complaints about airports and most of its complaints have been against airlines, as seen in its inaugural consumer report.
Pushpalatha said it was never Mavcom’s intention to impose fines on any party as it instead preferred to work with all parties concerned to improve the services provided.