12 November 2018
The country’s tourism industry could have registered a better growth if the airport operator and authorities had been able to keep the travelling cost low, said AirAsia Group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.
In a series of tweets today, Fernandes said the passenger service charges (PSC), or more commonly known as airport tax, should be kept low, and Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) should attract more travellers to make KLIA an aviation hub.
“I remind Malaysia Airports and Mavcom (Malaysian Aviation Commission) that AirAsia has the lowest fares in the world, and that is how we have grown from two planes to 250 planes. So that is why airport tax should be kept low and you should look for volume and help us build a big hub,” he said.
“The differences in services between KLIA and klia2 [require] airport tax to be different. It is very clear that KLIA is a very superior terminal. My guests have no train to take them to the satellite terminal, they have to walk, one of the many differences,” he added.
Effective this year, Mavcom has standardised the PSC at KLIA and klia2, resulting in the rate for international travel beyond Asean at klia2 to increase by RM23 to RM73 per passenger.
“The acting CEO of MAHB says it (PSC) is [the] lowest in the region. That may be the case for full service carriers. But AirAsia is a low cost airline where average fares are at RM230,” Fernandes said.
Fernandes also posted a picture of a faulty walkalator at klia2, and urged MAHB to improve the facilities at klia2 and not be content with the improved conditions of the toilets at KLIA.
“Finally, the acting CEO of MAHB was complimenting himself of his toilets. But what about sorting out klia2? Taxiway is constantly closed with digging up and yet again walkalator broken down last night,” he said.
Source: www.theedgemarkets.com
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