'Airport tax expected to increase, too'

Airport tax, also known as the passenger service charge, may be increased, Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said.

This is because there is already a stipulation in the agreement between the government and the Malaysia Airport Holdings Bhd (MAHB) for the airport tax to be reviewed every three years, Liow said.

"(The airport tax increase) will be enforced, because it is already in the agreement.

"We don't have to make an announcement unless the government wants to stop or review the agreement, but as long as it's in the agreement, we can't change this decision," Liow is quoted as saying in an Astro Awani report.

Last December, MAHB director Badlisham Ghazali said that the current airport tax will have reached the five-year cycle next month, though he added that any decision on the airport tax is up to the government.

The current airport tax for Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is RM65 for international passengers and RM9 for domestic passengers.

At the budget carrier terminal KLIA2, the airport tax is currently set at RM32 for international passengers and RM6 for domestic passengers. -Mkini