Departure levy to be charged from Sept 1 as scheduled

Air travellers leaving the country from Sept 1 will have to pay a departure levy ranging from RM8 to RM150.

GEORGE TOWN: Transport Minister Loke Siew Fook said the government has decided that the departure levy will stay and collection will begin on Sept 1.

“The Cabinet has decided,” he said at a press conference at the Rapid bus terminal at Weld Quay here today.

Last week, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the government would look into the the departure levy, and the passenger service charge (PSC) collected from air travellers leaving klia2.

With the latest announcement, those flying out of the country will have to pay a departure levy of between RM8 and RM150.

Travellers heading to Asean countries in economy class will have to pay RM8, while a RM50 levy will be imposed on those flying in other than economy class.

Those flying to non-Asean countries will be charged RM20 if they fly economy class, while those flying other than economy class will need to pay RM150.

In Budget 2019, Putrajaya had proposed a departure levy on all air travellers leaving the country from June 1, saying it was to encourage the development of domestic tourism.

The Dewan Rakyat passed the Departure Levy Bill 2019 in April but the imposition of the fee was postponed from June 1 to Sept 1.

The PSC, on the other hand, has been imposed by Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad since July last year.

The country’s largest airport operator imposes a RM73 charge on those leaving klia2 to non-Asean destinations. It was previously RM50.

The RM73 rate is the same as the PSC charged for those using Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), a full-service airport, and has been a bone of contention with low-cost carrier AirAsia. - FMT