AirAsia Will No Longer Collect 'klia2 Fee' Starting From 7 Jan To Keep Ticket Prices Low
The legal battle between AirAsia and MAHB continues.
By Samantha Khor — 07 Jan 2019, 12:55 PM
Low-cost carrier AirAsia has announced that it will stop collecting the RM3 klia2 fee for all flights departing from Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (klia2) starting from today, 7 January
AirAsia Malaysia CEO Riad Asmat confirmed the abolishment of the klia2 fee, saying, "We have said from the very beginning that klia2 is not fit for low-cost carrier operations, and we will be going directly to Malaysia Airports for all the extra costs they’re costing us."
According to the statement, the fee was introduced in May 2014 by Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) to cover additional costs due to the use of mandatory facilities in the airport
The facilities include aerobridges as well as the SITA check-in and boarding systems.
The additional charge was not imposed at AirAsia's previous hub, the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT).
The fee's abolishment was first disclosed on 31 December 2018 by AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes, who called the standardised fee "ridiculous"
According to The Star, AirAsia and MAHB have been at loggerheads over klia2's RM73 passenger service charge (PSC) in the past year after the airline refused to collect the full amount imposed by the airport operator to standardise tax at both KLIA and klia2.
In objecting to the standardised fee, AirAsia has been collecting RM50 per pax instead, which was the rate prior to the price hike. The airline also insisted that the additional fee was unfair, as KLIA was "better-equipped" compared to klia2.
In his Facebook live stream, Fernandes added that AirAsia will go directly to MAHB to seek compensation for damages sustained by its aircraft due to the facilities at klia2.
MAHB later responded to Fernandes' claims, saying that it did not impose the RM3 klia2 fee. Instead, the fee is charged and collected by AirAsia Group Bhd as part of its ticket price.
"The klia2 fee had been imposed and collected solely by AirAsia since the klia2 terminal started operations in 2014," MAHB said in a statement.
"The only charges to passengers collected by Malaysia Airports are the passenger service charges (PSC) of RM11 for Domestic departure, RM35 for International departure to ASEAN countries, and RM73 for International departure to Non-ASEAN countries."