AirAsia to shift flights to KLIA by Jan 1, says daily

© Provided by MToday News Sdn Bhd air-asia_air-asiaxPETALING JAYA: Low-cost carrier AirAsia Group plans to move its entire operations to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) by January next year.

Business Times reported that the affiliates — AirAsia Bhd (AirAsia), Thai AirAsia, Philippines AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia, AirAsia X Bhd and Indonesia X — would be involved in the relocation.

This followed the revised passenger service charges (PSCs) by Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) on Monday.

“AirAsia Group is serious about moving to KLIA main terminal.

“The decision to move is due to the lower PSC.

“With the reduction of PSC at KLIA, AirAsia intends to move its operations as soon as the new charges are applicable,” it quoted sources yesterday.

The sources expected all the operations to move to KLIA by Jan 1.

On Monday, AirAsia and AirAsia X had said passengers enjoyed far superior services at the main terminal.

AirAsia and its affiliates have captured 98 per cent of the traffic at klia2 since moving there in 2014.

Before this, they were operating at the previous low-cost carrier terminal, located near KLIA.

AirAsia’s move to KLIA will mean that some airlines based at the main terminal may have to shift to klia2, Business Times added.

“KLIA’s capacity is already reaching its maximum now.

“If the entire AirAsia Group moves to the main terminal, then some airlines would have to shift their operations to klia2,” people familiar with the matter told the news daily.

This should not pose any problems for the airlines as Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) had earlier this year stated that klia2 was designed to cater to all types of airlines, although the terminal is mainly used by low-cost carriers at present.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has also said that the two terminals have the same facility and services.

KLIA has the capacity to handle up to 25 million passengers per year.

The daily said AirAsia will present its relocation and operational requirements to MAHB during a meeting on Nov 7.

The revised PSC will see RM11 imposed on domestic flights at KLIA and klia2 as well as RM35 for Asean destinations. International destinations will be charged RM73 and RM50 at KLIA and klia2 respectively.

The current charges at KLIA are RM65 for international destinations and RM9 for domestic travel. At klia2, the charges are RM32 and RM6 for international and domestic destinations respectively.