MYAirline just ‘disappeared’, says Loke

 

MYAirline’s decision to suspend operations today has affected 125,000 of its passengers, said transport minister Loke Siew Fook. (JohnShen Lee pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: Transport minister Loke Siew Fook has criticised MYAirline’s decision to suspend its operations earlier today, calling the low-cost carrier’s actions “irresponsible” and “unacceptable”.

He said the transport ministry and Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) were caught by surprise with the “abrupt” decision as they were not given any prior notice.

Loke said the suspension has affected 125,000 MYAirline passengers who had already purchased RM20 million worth of tickets until March 2024.

“MYAirline just disappeared. They stopped their operations, and not only were their planes not flying, but their staff were also nowhere to be found at the airport.

“There were no representatives at all (at the airport). (This is) irresponsible behaviour,” Loke said at a press conference in Parliament.

Earlier today, MYAirline said it had to suspend its operations immediately because of significant financial pressures.

Calling the decision “extremely painful”, it added that it had no timeline on resuming operations – which was dependent on shareholder restructuring and recapitalisation of the airline.

‘MYAirline will fulfil obligations’

Numerous passengers have taken to social media to express their shock and disgruntlement following the news of MYAirline’s suspension, especially as many only found out about it when they were already at the airports.

Loke stressed that the transport ministry was “deeply concerned” about the suspension and it was monitoring the situation through Mavcom to ensure that MYAirline addressed all complaints and issues raised by affected passengers.

“MYAirline has assured Mavcom that it will fulfil its obligations to affected passengers and will provide refunds to consumers once they secure the necessary funding,” he said.

Stating that today’s incident was the first time a local airline had suspended its operations in such a hasty manner, Loke said he was concerned it would put the country in a bad light – especially among foreign travellers.

Loke also said he had instructed Mavcom to look at any possible action to be taken against MYAirline, adding that Mavcom would set up a task force to identify ways to reimburse passengers.

He said this would be done with the assistance of Bank Negara Malaysia.

MYAirline, which got off the ground last December, operated eight aircraft and had plans to expand its operations to 12 aircraft by the end of this year.

The airline has approximately 900 employees and used to fly from KLIA Terminal 2 to eight domestic destinations (Penang, Kota Bharu, Langkawi, Kota Kinabalu, Sibu, Tawau, Kuching, and Miri) and one international destination (Bangkok). - FMT