Ramon: Resolve dispute between MAHB, AirAsia immediately
KUALA LUMPUR: The dispute between Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) and AirAsia Group Bhd (AirAsia) needs to be resolved immediately in the interest of the public and nation.
Observers and aviation experts reckon both parties need to sit down and discuss matters in the spirit of goodwill and noble intentions.
Former Transport Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Ramon Navaratnam said the spat between AirAsia and MAHB was going on for far too long.
He said the situation worsened when both parties aired their argument and discontentment in public, putting the national aviation sector in a bad light.
“This is not good for the country. The government, through the Transport Ministry, has to intervene and arbitrate to find a ‘fair and reasonable’ solution that is mutually acceptable to both,” he told NST Business yesterday.
Navaratnam said perhaps less fees could be charged on AirAsia if the facilities and services supplied by MAHB were re- portedly less than at the Kuala Lumpur In- ternational Airport (KLIA) main terminal.
“Fair is fair, and just is just, but Malaysia must come first. We (Malaysia) can’t afford to leave MAHB and AirAsia to pursue their vested interests at the expense of air passengers and the public.”
The dispute is believed to be due to AirAsia’s refusal to collect the additional RM23 Passenger Service Charge (PSC) from passengers, less facilities provided at klia2, as well as the airline’s operational disruption at the second terminal.
MAHB claimed that the disparity of approach to PSC and AirAsia’s action distorted competition and impacted MAHB’s ability to attract new airlines into the country.
CAPA Centre for Aviation chief analyst and Southeast Asia chief representative Brendan Sobie said one solution was for AirAsia to move into another terminal that was more built for low-cost carriers’ purposes.
“However, Sobie reckoned that developing a low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) for its operation in Malaysia would would not be easy for AirAsia, as klia2 was relatively new and the government had invested a lot to develop the terminal.
“AirAsia is currently the anchor tenant at klia2, accounting for more than 90 per cent of travellers at the airport.
“If it leaves klia2, it will make the airport virtually empty, and this is not acceptable for the government.”
Maybank Investment Bank aviation analyst Mohshin Aziz said airport development had always being borne by the government and it had never been a privately funded initiative.
“Based on past history, it seems a bit off and not simple too for private players to build its own airport in the country. AirAsia had in 2009 wanted to build its own LCCT in Labu, Negri Sembilan but was not successful because of its close proximity to KLIA.”