‘Why should klia2 get special treatment?’
> Source says PSC equalisation should not have been made an issue
PETALING JAYA: The equalisation of klia2 passenger service charge (PSC) for nonAsean routes from RM50 to RM73 should never have become a issue, said an aviation source.
The source said passengers at all other airports in the country are paying the same charge, so why should klia2 be given special treatment?
“All airlines operating out of klia2 had been given a year to prepare for the increase in PSC and just as it was about to be implemented, it became a big issue,” the source said.
Citing the example of international airports in Penang, Kuching in Sarawak and Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, the source said all passengers flying out of these airports to non-Asean destinations have been paying the full PSC charge of RM73.
According to the source, the naysayers’ argument that the services at klia2 are not very good does not hold water as they are trying to say services at the other international airports are better than klia2.
Since January, the PSC rates have been standardised for all airports at RM73 for non-Asean, RM35 for Asean and RM11 for domestic routes, with the exception of klia2 for non-Asean routes, which remained at RM50.
Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad said the new tier for the Asean PSC rate saw a drop of 46%, from RM65 to RM35, which benefited about 18 million passengers.
It said this last phase of equalisation is for non-Asean international PSC at klia2 from RM50 to RM73, involving about 4.5 million departing passengers a year of which about 70%, or three million, are foreigners.
Malaysian Aviation Commission executive chairman General (Rtd) Tan Sri Abdullah Ahmad has said the government would be forced to fork out RM60 million in subsidies if the PSC for non-Asean destinations at klia2 was not equalised.
He said passengers using the airport should rightly take up the higher charges and not the rakyat, some of whom have not even entered an aircraft or taken a flight.
“According to MAHB statistics, 70% of departing passengers to non-Asean destinations are foreigners, so why should the government subsidise their PSC?” the source said.