KUALA LUMPUR (March 12): The Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) has announced that effective from June 1, all international departures from Terminal 1 of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) will incur a passenger service charge (PSC) of RM73, and RM50 for klia2 or other Malaysian airports, regardless of whether the passenger is travelling to within or beyond Asean.

A transfer PSC charge will also be introduced, at RM7 for domestic passengers transferring through any Malaysian airport — except for Senai International Airport (JHB), which will charge RM10 — while international passengers will be charged RM42 for transferring through KLIA, and RM29 through klia2 or other Malaysian airports.

The revised charges will be in effect for two and half years till Dec 31, 2026, and is to support the aviation sector's recovery and adaptability post-Covid-19, Mavcom said in a statement on Tuesday.

Previously, the PSC for international departures from KLIA and klia2 (or other Malaysian airports) was divided into two categories: those travelling within Asean were charged RM35, and those travelling beyond Asean were charged RM73.

This means travellers to within Asean will pay RM38 more if they are travelling out of KLIA, and RM15 more for those travelling out of klia2 or other Malaysian airports, while those travelling beyond Asean from klia2 or other Malaysian airports will pay RM23 less.

The PSC for domestic departures will remain unchanged at RM11, except for JHB, which will be raised to RM16.

The announcement confirmed a report by The Edge Malaysia in December last year, which wrote that domestic PSC would stay unchanged, while the PSC for international flights flying out of KLIA would be kept at a higher rate than those departing from klia2, and that Asean-bound travellers flying out of all Malaysian airports would have to pay more.

Mavcom said it has allowed airports not operated by Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB), namely JHB, Kerteh Airport (KTE), and Tanjung Manis Airport (TGC) to propose tariffs for the June 1, 2024 to Dec 31, 2026 period, also known as the first regulatory period.

“This allowance is based on a market power assessment conducted by the commission, which determined that these airports either lack market power or the capability to exercise it,” Mavcom said.

“Both KTE and TGC have opted to adopt the rates recommended by the commission. Meanwhile, JHB has opted to implement a separate rate structure,” it added.

JHB is the only airport to see an increase in domestic departure PSC to RM16, while it fixes RM10 as the new PSC for domestic transfers. As for international travel through JHB, departures will be charged a PSC of RM50, while transfers will be charged RM29.

Mavcom said the PSC revision was made following an extensive consultation process that began in 2021.

“The PSC tariff announced today [Tuesday] reflects feedback from various stakeholders, aiming to support the industry’s long-term viability,” Mavcom executive chairman Datuk Seri Saripuddin Kasim said.

Besides changes to PSC, Mavcom noted that other aviation service charges (ASCs), including tariffs for aircraft landing and parking, airport pass charges, airside vehicle permits, airside driving permits and others, will also be adjusted to account for inflation.

“The commission has determined that adjustments based on the consumer price index (CPI) escalation represent the minimum necessary change to ensure that tariffs accurately reflect changes in costs,” the commission added.