MALAYSIA Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) today rejected AirAsia’s offer to mediate over an RM400 million counter-claim linked to passenger service charges (PSC) at klia2, said the budget airline.

AirAsia Malaysia CEO Riad Asmat said in a statement the group had proposed mediation to the airport operator to resolve their ongoing dispute over the PSC fees at the low-cost airport but MAHB rejected the offer via a letter sent by its lawyers.

“We regret that MAHB has refused AirAsia’s olive branch to resolve outstanding issues between us through mediation, particularly in light of MAHB’s recent statement that it is ‘optimistic that these matters can and will be resolved’.

“We will seek guidance from Mavcom (Malaysian Aviation Commission) on the next steps to address this situation. However, we reserve our rights to take all necessary actions to protect the interests of our guests and shareholders.”

The Mavcom Act requires AirAsia and MAHB to first seek mediation before resorting to other legal proceedings to settle any dispute.

Riad said AirAsia, therefore, acted in good faith to comply with the act and prevent further public discourse which it believes is damaging to the aviation sector.

On January 31, MAHB said via a filing with Bursa Malaysia that AirAsia Bhd and its long-haul arm,
AirAsia X Bhd, had served a letter alleging that the two airlines had suffered loss and damages amounting to RM479.78 million.

The group also served notice to MAHB’s wholly owned subsidiary Malaysia Airports (Sepang) Sdn Bhd (MASSB) to convene a mediation process as per the Malaysian Aviation Commission Act 2015.

On December 11, AirAsia Group Bhd and AirAsiaX said in a filing with the stock exchange that MASSB is suing both airlines to recover RM9.4 million and RM26.72 million respectively for PSC arrears.

Both airlines refused to collect the new PSC rate of RM73 for non-Asean international flights and continued collecting the old rate of RM50 as it claimed the facilities at klia2 are not on a par with the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

AirAsia and AirAsia X then filed a counter-claim seeking RM400 million for losses and damages arising from operational disruptions at klia2. – February 6, 2019.