PUTRAJAYA: With several public holidays coming, AirAsia must ensure that passengers will not be affected by flight delays and rescheduling again, says Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi (pic).

       The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister said the airline should be prepared to meet high flight demands, especially with Wesak Day as well as the Kaamataan and Gawai celebrations approaching.

       Wesak will be celebrated on May 15, Kaamatan on May 30 and 31, while Gawai is on June 1.

       ALSO READ: AirAsia apologises for rescheduling flights during Raya holidays

       He said the Ministry and AirAsia had held an engagement session to discuss complaints about delays and rescheduling of domestic flights involving the airline recently during the Hari Raya holiday period.

       "During the meeting, I pointed out that passengers' travel plans should not be disrupted, especially with several public holidays coming.

       "My Ministry will continue to look after and protect the interests of consumers while operational issues are under the purview of the Transport Ministry and Malaysian Aviation Commission," he said in a series of tweets on Wednesday (May 11).

       ALSO READ: Nanta: AirAsia to give feedback to domestic trade ministry on consumer issues within 24 hours

       On Tuesday, AirAsia was given 24 hours to provide feedback on a number of consumer issues and Nanta said that he had received the feedback from the airline close to midnight the same day.

       He said according to the airline, it is now operating with only 40 planes compared to 95 during the pre-pandemic period.

       "Consumers have the right to lodge official complaints if their flights are delayed or rescheduled and they should do so if they are affected by disruptions.

       "If complaints are lodged, have basis and in accordance with Mavcom guidelines, AirAsia will provide compensation to passengers," said Nanta.

       Compensation provided by the airline to affected passengers included a changed flight, credits to be used at a later date, refunds, hotel accommodations and meals.

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       AirAsia, in a statement on Tuesday (May 10) apologised to customers for the inconvenience caused due to rescheduling of its flights, saying that it was forced to do this due to a sharp increase in demand during the festive season.

       AirAsia Malaysia chief executive officer Riad Asmat had said that several factors and unavoidable incidents resulted in delays that were beyond the airline's expectations and control.

       He was quoted as saying that besides common damages and technical problems normally encountered during a routine inspection, there were also unforeseen incidents such as bird strikes, damage due to foreign objects and lightning strikes that resulted in between three and five planes having to be removed from the schedule during the period.

       The Transport Ministry had also taken airlines to task over flight disruption complaints by travellers during the Hari Raya holidays.

       Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said the ministry, Mavcom and the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) had been deluged with complaints from passengers, including on social media, on flight delays.