MyAirline to refund RM22 million to passengers in stages

KUALA LUMPUR - MYAirline will be responsible for the 125,000 passengers impacted by the airline's suspension of operations.

MYAirline's interim accountable executive Datuk Seri Azharuddin A Rahman said, approximately RM22 million in flight ticket fares will eventually be refunded in stages to all passengers who have previously purchased flight tickets.

He said the airlines had already received 18,000 emails from travellers requesting a refund for airline tickets that were a;ready purchased.

"MYAirline suspended its operations due to the lack of contingency plans and investor withdrawal issues," he stated.

Azharuddin also expressed his regret for not being more transparent with their clients, where the incident had caused thousands of people to be stranded at the airport.

"We acknowledge and understand the frustration experienced by our passengers. This situation happened because of the lack of a contingency plan, coupled with the last-minute withdrawal of investors," he said at a press conference on Monday.

Azharuddin said MYAirline also acknowledged its lack of communication with the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) and the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM). which resulted in the inability to contact the authorities and passengers on a timely basis before deciding to temporarily halt operations.

The immediate decision, he said, was taken out of concern for the wellbeing of both passengers and crew on the aircraft that operated from Wednesday night until early Thursday morning.

"We issued a suspension notice at 5.30am on Thursday. Although we canceled the morning flight on Thursday immediately, we acknowledge that some passengers on the later flights were already at the airport and this was an error on our part," he said.

On the future of the airline's employees, Azharuddin said that employees welfare were still a top concern and that September salaries and statutory payments will take precedence once funding is secured.

He emphasised that no one has been asked to go on unpaid leave or been let go, as all employees are still employed by MYAirline.

He added that the airlines had discussed the matter with the Human Resources ministry during their meeting.

Azharuddin also informed that Stuart Cross the acting CEO, had resigned.

"To begin the refund procedure, any impacted MYAirline passengers should get in touch with [email protected]

"We have established a hotline at 03-8966 2522 which operates from 7am to 6pm every day to help with the repayment process and provide assistance as needed," he said.