THE passenger service charge (PSC) for travellers departing from all airports except KLIA’s main hub, has been reduced to RM50 for international flights beyond Asean.

The Transport Ministry said the reduction from RM73 will take effect October 1.

The fees for flights to Asean destinations and domestic travel remain at RM35 and RM11, respectively.

The ministry said this decision was made at the cabinet meeting yesterday.

At a press conference in Putrajaya, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said travellers who have paid the RM73 levy could request for refunds from the airlines.

He added the revised rate is not only for low-cost carrier terminal klia2 but all other airports with international departures, except KLIA.

Loke said the cabinet decided on the move to help spur the tourism industry.

The PSC in 2017 for international destinations beyond Asean was RM73 for KLIA and all airports except for klia2.

Last year, the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom), which sets the PSC rate, raised the fee to RM73 for klia2 so as to standardise the rate for all airports.

Budget carrier AirAsia, which operates out of klia2, refused to collect the RM23 difference from passengers, citing sub-par facilities at the airport.

The airlines has begun charging passengers the full rate following a suit by Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) and a court ruling in favour of MAHB.

The PSC is a different charge from the departure levy that is to take effect on September 1 that will be included in flight tickets.

The departure levy is based on flight class, with RM50 for those flying business and first class to Southeast Asian destinations and RM150 to other international countries.

Passengers on economy class will pay RM8 to Southeast Asian nations and RM20 to other international destinations.

The Malaysian Insight reported that Mavcom was in the midst of reviewing the PSC and was looking at an option that allowed for lower rates for other airports compared with KLIA. – August 30, 2019.