New airport tax rates

PETALING JAYA: New rates for Passenger Service Charge (PSC) or “airport tax” is to be implemented at all airports in the country soon, in a move to “level the playing field”.
Apart from “domestic” and “international” categories, the new PSC rate structure will feature a new category for inter-Asean flights, which will benefit those flying to other Asean nations.
However, according to aviation sources, passengers flying to international destinations (other than Asean) will have to fork out more than 120% more in PSC.
According to the source, the new PSC charges will be:
» RM11 for domestic flights, up from RM9 currently;
» RM35 for flights to Asean countries; and
» RM73 for international flights, up from RM65 out of KLIA, and RM32 from klia2 currently.
Although the increase in PSC is only RM2 for domestic flights and RM8 for flights from KLIA, those flying to international destinations from klia2 will have to fork out RM41 more.
theSun learnt the Cabinet had yesterday approved the new PSC rates and an announcement is expected to be made soon by Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.
At press time, Liow could not be reached for confirmation.
An aviation expert said calls “to level the playing field” has been going on for a long time.
“It is done so that no one airline should have an advantage over another, as they all serve the public at the end of the day,” he said.
“By levelling the playing field, passengers flying the Asean route may see their ticket prices actually go down as it is the most heavily travelled route in the world,” he added.
Commenting on the tremendous increase in PSC for international flights, especially out of klia2, he said: “An extra RM30 to RM50 should not matter much for a person paying thousands for their tickets.”
“The new PSC charges will also help Malaysia Airports Berhad provide better services to the public,” he said, adding there are many services at the airport that are covered by the PSC.
He cited as examples the public announcement system, cleaning services in public areas and other ancillary services before and after check-in that need to be maintained to provide comfort to the travelling public.