PETALING JAYA: Airline companies have been tasked by the Transport Ministry to improve their management of flight service issues and communication to passengers, following flight disruption complaints during the Hari Raya holidays.

       Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said the ministry, the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) and the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) have received numerous complaints relating to flight delays from passengers, including on social media.

       “The government sympathises with the plight of the passengers and has sought to reduce these issues with the airlines.

       "Upon consultation and investigations, the airlines involved have been instructed to immediately rectify the issues experienced by passengers and other customers.

       “In the interest of safety and technical compliance to civil aviation regulations and passenger comfort, the ministry has tasked airlines to better monitor technical issues related to flight service and better communicate these issues to passengers in order to reduce inconvenience,” said Dr Wee in a statement on Tuesday (May 10).

       Dr Wee said most of the complaints stemmed from the “higher-than-usual” passenger traffic during the festive season, with the airlines having to fully utilise their aircraft fleet to meet demand.

       He added that aircraft with technical issues had to be taken out of service for maintenance.

       “The Ministry asks for the public to remain patient and continue to give detailed feedback to airlines in order to resolve any further operational issues.

       “As of May 10, all of the complaints related to rescheduling and flight backlog have been rectified and put back on normal track,” said Dr Wee.

       Dr Wee said the ministry will be keeping a close eye on aviation companies to ensure they fully comply with maintenance and technical requirements.

       “Authorities have reprimanded parties involved to ensure strict compliance to technical, economic, and safety regulations and will not hesitate to take action against operators that fail to do so,” said the minister.

       He added that airlines should also improve their communication channels with their passengers and customers to keep them properly informed of flight statuses.