The Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) earlier this week said that it has urged AirAsia X (AAX) to reconsider its plan to repay only 0.5% of passenger’s ticket price as part of its restructure process which is expected to be completed within Q1 of 2022. Under this plan, that means passengers would only get back RM5 for each RM1,000 that they have paid to the airline who has a debt of around RM33.6 billion.
This is because AAX has also listed passengers as one of its creditors under its restructuring plan. In its media statement, MAVCOM said that AXX should not have classified passengers as such given the fact they paid for their tickets and did not loan money to the airline.
The regulator also said that it will exercise its authority through the provisions provided by the Malaysian Aviation Commission Act 2015 (Act 771), shall AAX fail to reimburse the flight tickets. Then again, MAVCOM didn’t specify the exact reimbursement policy or timeline that AAX need to adhere though.
In the media release that announced the creditors’ support for its Scheme of Arrangement, AAX co-founder, Tony Fernandes has said that AAX intends to implement travel credits for all passengers affected by the restructuring. This is the same plan that the company has told customers back in October 2020 and looks like it is here to stay unless MAVCOM can convince, pressure, or threaten AAX to do otherwise.
