9 New Airline Policies Every Malaysian Frequent Flier Needs to Know About

These were announced by MAVCOM’s director of consumer and public affairs, Pushpalatha Subramaniam, as part of the regulator's Malaysian Aviation Consumer Protection (Amendment) Code (MACPC) 2024.

1. Refunds for flight delays of 5 hours or more

As reported by NST, when flights are delayed by five hours or more on the day of departure, airlines now have to provide refunds to affected passengers in the original mode of payment. Payments via cash, credit card, or airline miles (points) have to be reimbursed accordingly within 30 days.

In addition to the refund, passengers will also get hotel accommodation for an overnight stay when necessary and transport between the hotel and the airport.

If passengers buy their flight tickets via online travel agencies (OTA), the airline has to reimburse the OTA within 30 days, after which OTA will then refund the passenger. According to MAVCOM, passengers should approach a carrier's representative first to seek a refund before complaining to them.

2. Provisions for flight delays of 2 hours or more

For flights delayed by two hours or more on the day of departure, airlines have to provide meals, phone calls, and internet access to passengers.

3. Refunds for weather & security risks

This includes refunds for flight disruptions caused by extraordinary circumstances beyond airlines' control such as weather and security risks.

Under this policy, airlines must first offer a refund in the original mode of payment. If the passenger does not opt for a refund, the airline may offer alternative forms of refund such as travel vouchers or credit shells. Previously, airlines were not required to do so.

Airlines must offer refunds for refundable and non-refundable tickets for flights passengers did not board. Airlines are now required to refund all mandatory charges such as fuel surcharge, taxes, fees, and charges such as the departure levy, passenger service charges (PSC), and carbon fee.

5. Cancelled flights must be promptly removed from all booking platforms

This includes those operated by online and offline travel agents to reduce confusion amongst passengers.

Airlines must inform consumers of new departure times if the flight timings are changed more than three hours from the scheduled departure time when the latest time is decided or at least 24 hours before departure.

7. Denying passengers boarding

Any denied boarding must be done at the check-in counter or departure gate before the passenger boards the aircraft. We assume this is because sometimes passengers may find themselves kicked off a flight if it is overbooked.

8. Flight schedule changes no longer allowed

From Jan 1, 2025, airlines will not be allowed to change their flight schedules within two weeks from the departure date except in extraordinary circumstances or technical reasons. This is probably because airlines frequently reschedule flights if they are underbooked, which causes a lot of inconvenience to consumers. According to MAVCOM, a rescheduled and re-timed flight occurs when an airline changes the scheduled departure time as stated on the ticket.

9. No misleading advertisements

Have you ever seen an airline ad for an insanely good deal only to be disappointed by hidden fees? Now, advertisements for airfare must not be false, misleading, or deceptive. Airlines must publish all-inclusive prices at the time of advertising and before ticket purchase by consumers, including all fees.