THE Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) received a total of 1,251 complaints throughout the first half of 2022 (1H2022), an increase of almost eight times compared with 157 complaints lodged in the same period last year.

In a statement today, Mavcom said according to its bi-annual Consumer Report for 1H2022, 99.1% (1,240) of the total complaints were received on airlines while 0.9% (11) complaints were related to airports.

It said AirAsia received the highest number of complaints from January to June, comprising 42.1% (527) of total complaints, followed by Malaysia Airlines with 40.7% (509) and Batik Air with 7.9% (99).

The commission said for every million passengers carried, Malaysia Airlines recorded the highest number of registered complaints with 199, followed by Batik Air (167) and AirAsia (95).

It said flight rescheduling and cancellations, as well as online booking, collectively contributed to 46.1% (577) of total complaints filed.

Executive chairman Saripuddin Kasim said global air travel saw a strong recovery in 1H2022, particularly as more and more international borders reopened and travellers took the opportunity to travel abroad in addition to improved domestic travel. 

He said passenger traffic increased from an average of 2.9 million between January and April to an average of 4.79 million between May and June. 

“Indeed, Malaysia’s aviation service providers should prepare by taking heed of the complaints breakdown observed in the report as guidance to further improve service levels as well as address the root cause of prevailing issues. 

“As a proactive measure by Mavcom, we have also been actively engaging aviation service providers to ensure that these issues are being addressed,” he said.

About a quarter of the complaints received in 1H2022 saw airlines reversing their initial decisions by providing resolutions that were more equitable or satisfactory to consumers. 

Overall, 87.9% (1,100) of the total complaints have been resolved and closed.

Additionally, Mavcom said it also received 1,317 non-actionable complaints, comprising 1,160 complaints with incomplete documentation and 59 complaints where the airline or airport concerned had fulfilled the obligations under the Malaysian Aviation Consumer Protection Code (MACPC).

The other 35 complaints were withdrawn by consumers, 31 beyond the scope of the MACPC, 29 pertained to bookings made through travel agents as well as three were lodged more than a year from the incident date. – Bernama, September 19, 2022.