AirAsia to collect increased PSC demanded by MAHB under protest

AirAsia will be collecting the increased Passenger Service Charge (PSC) levied by Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) from midnight tonight under protest, following a recent court ruling.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court had dismissed AirAsia Berhad and AirAsia X Berhad’s striking out application in relation to the payment for outstanding PSC to Malaysia Airports (Sepang) Sdn Bhd (MASSB), a subsidiary of MAHB.

PSC, or airport tax, is charged by MAHB on all departing passengers for use of airport facilities and is collected by airlines such as AirAsia on behalf of the airport operator.

MAHB had imposed a new PSC of RM73 on passengers using klia2 to destinations beyond Asean – the same rate as at the full-service terminal KLIA – effective July 2018. This is higher than the previous rate of RM50, and AirAsia had refused to collect the additional RM23 from its guests to ensure air travel remains affordable for all.

AirAsia will now collect the additional RM23 in PSC, and the differential amount will be clearly indicated in the itemised fare as “PSC (Under Protest)”.

AirAsia Malaysia CEO Riad Asmat said, “We will collect the full RM73 PSC but we do so under strong protest. Itemising the additional PSC will allow our 5.5 million guests departing from klia2 for non-Asean destinations annually to see how much they’re paying for inferior facilities. I believe many will agree with us that they’re not getting their money’s worth, especially when compared to the far superior facilities at KLIA.”

AirAsia X Malaysia CEO Benyamin Ismail said, “Believe me, we really don’t want to be doing this, and we sympathise with our guests. PSC for passengers flying beyond Asean has more than doubled in less than two years from RM32 to RM73. This is an arbitrary hike and we will continue to oppose it until all our legal options are exhausted. However, we are forced to collect the additional RM23 as we cannot afford to continue subsidising our guests in the event our appeal falls through. We hope our guests will understand.”