Mavcom followed rules, Anthony Loke tells disgruntled airlines

Transport minister says if airlines feel they are being treated unfairly, they should take action.

Anthony Loke says Mavcom will continue operating as usual despite calls from airlines for the government to abolish it.

SEPANG: Transport Minister Anthony Loke today brushed aside complaints from several airlines regarding the “ill treatment” they had received at the hands of the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom).

The bosses of two aviation companies had recently alleged that Mavcom, under the previous administration, treated them unfairly, resulting in hundreds of millions in losses.

At a press conference in Bukit Kiara, Eaglexpress president Captain Azlan Zainal Abidin and Suasa Airlines CEO Captain Sheikh Salleh Abod had called on the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government to abolish Mavcom.

Speaking to reporters at a Mavcom-organised event at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), Loke said for now, Mavcom would continue operations as usual.

He said it was incumbent upon all airlines to follow regulations for their operations.

“Mavcom has maintained that all the decisions it made were in line with those regulations,” he said.

Loke said if airlines felt they had been treated unfairly, they were free to take action against the commission.

Asked about documents FMT had sighted on plans to build a new low-cost carrier terminal, Loke acknowledged that there was indeed a proposal made to the Economic Council during the previous administration.

“The Performance Management Delivery Unit (Pemandu) was then told to do a feasibility study.

“But no decision was made on whether the airport would be built.”

He said now that PH had taken over, any such proposal would have to be resubmitted.

“We will study any proposal that comes our way.” -FMT