AirAsia: RM73 airport tax unfair to our passengers

AirAsia CEO Riad Asmat.

SEPANG: AirAsia Bhd has confirmed it is only collecting RM50 in passenger service charges, in defiance of the government gazette mandating a collection of RM73 from each passenger flying to a destination outside Asean.

In an interview with FMT, AirAsia chief executive Riad Asmat said the RM73 airport tax, officially referred to as the passenger service charge (PSC), was unfair to passengers given that the facilities in airports around the country, including klia2, were not on par with those found in KLIA.

“I can’t accept that KLIA is considered the same as klia2,” he said, pointing to the distance passengers had to walk before boarding the aeroplanes and facilities.

According to a recent news report, the Board of Airline Representatives has complained to Malaysia Airlines Holdings Bhd (MAHB) about AirAsia’s non-compliance with the government ruling, which took effect in January.

Riad said his company was in discussion with MAHB and other stakeholders on the issue.

He said he was glad to hear Transport Minister Loke Siew Fook’s recent announcement that the government was considering reducing the tax.

“We will leave it to the current administration – which is taking the right approach – to review the whole scenario,” he said. “I think we will get the results that will work for everyone.”

He said AirAsia’s main concern was maintaining the low prices it had been offering to passengers for years amid rising costs.

“People say, ‘Why should AirAsia worry about the PSC when it is passengers who pay?’ From my perspective, how long can passengers pay if we keep pushing costs to them?”

He acknowledged an argument that there has been a steady growth in air traffic despite increases in the airport tax over time, but he said he believed that in AirAsia’s case, this was due to aggressive marketing and expansion of routes.

“Extra charges won’t help anyone,” he said. “We’re talking about a very price sensitive environment.”

He voiced a fear that price rises might undo efforts to encourage people to travel.

He also acknowledged that Malaysia’s airport tax was among the lowest in the world, but he said such an evaluation should be balanced with a comparison of airport facilities. - FMT