THE five-hour or more delay or full refund policy must have a ‘tight lid’ to prevent flight operators from taking advantage of loopholes in the ruling to escape compensating passengers who have been inconvenienced by their dis-service.
While gladly welcoming the good piece of news from Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook, Malaysians who are accustomed to airline inefficiencies ranging from lengthy flight delays to even cancellations without prior notice reckon that legal brains in the airline industry are already in the midst of identifying ways and means to circumvent such ruling.
“AirAsia will say it’s not a five-hour delay (but) it’s a re-schedule that they told earlier but the passengers didn’t receive the message,” a seemingly regular but cheeky flyer concocted a potential situation in a reaction to news on the new policy by BFM News (@NewsBFM) on the X platform.
“Re-schedule is not the same as delay, so they do not have to refund. And here is a RM9.90 Santan value set voucher for the next flight.”
JUST IN: Airlines will soon be required to fully refund passengers for flights delayed by 5 hours or more.
The Transport Ministry says airlines must offer to refund affected passengers via the original mode of payment, although they could offer alternatives such as credit shells… pic.twitter.com/EquMW1jqio
— BFM News (@NewsBFM) August 28, 2024
For context, the Transport Ministry (MOT) announced yesterday (Aug 28) that airlines will be required as soon as next week to fully refund passengers for flights delayed by five or more hours following changes to the Malaysian Aviation Consumer Protection Code 2016 which will be gazetted on Sept 2 (Monday).
The regulation is aimed at ensuring transparency on airlines’ obligations and providing clear guidance on consumer rights during flight disruptions.
Passengers can opt for a full refund if they wish to cancel their journey with airlines having to issue refunds through the original mode of payment, according to Loke. Moreover, all cancelled flights must be removed from booking systems, including online and offline travel agent platforms.
Failure to comply with the regulation can result in a maximum penalty of RM200,000 with subsequent non-compliance resulting in a penalty 10 times greater than the initial fine.
For flight disruptions sparked by unforeseen circumstances, airlines must first offer refunds but may also provide alternative reimbursement options such as travel vouchers or credit shells.
“However, users have the right to choose their preferred mode of refund,” Loke who is also the Seremban MP pointed out. “The refunds have to be made within 30 days.”
Combing through the comments’ section, another supposedly regular flyer wanted the relevant authorities – in particular the MOT and the Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) – to define more specifically what constitutes “delay” given such fine prints would eventually prevent loopholes that can be easily capitalised by airlines.
Likewise, a commenter reckoned that airlines will likely make it as complicated/difficult as possible for affected passengers to seek a refund.
Finally, some Malaysian flyers wonder if such good-intended policy will ever result in fare hike as airlines invest in enhancing their operational efficiency. As one observer aptly highlighted, “the devil is in (the) details and implementation”. – Aug 29, 2024
