PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) is an essential component in the effort to protect the rights of airline passengers, according to the Consumers Association of Penang (CAP).
It must therefore never be shut down, CAP president Mohideen Abdul Kader said in a statement yesterday.
He noted that since its inception, there had been calls by those in the aviation industry to do away with Mavcom on the excuse that it impeded growth of the industry.
“However, we (CAP), as an association that hears and handles consumer complaints, know that Mavcom is a boon for airline passengers,” he said.
He recalled that in the past, passenger complaints usually went unresolved because airlines were not held accountable.
He said the common complaints revolved around refunds, baggage handling and the failure of airlines to inform passengers about flight cancellations or delays.
“When CAP or the passengers brought these up with the airlines, they had no problem shirking their responsibility because they did not have to answer to anyone,” he said. “Furthermore, there was no dedicated avenue to passengers to forward their grievances.”
Mohideen said that with Mavcom and the Malaysian Aviation Consumer Protection Code (MACPC) in place, airlines could no longer ignore passengers’ complaints.
The code ensures that airlines have to be more careful in their operations and that complaints were addressed accordingly, he said.
“Mavcom must stay so that airline passengers retain their rights. We ask that all parties involved put an end to the calls to abolish Mavcom and instead work on bettering their operations so that airline passengers do not have a reason to complain,” Mohideen added.
