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Regulator fines AirAsia over payment processing fees
Malaysia’s aviation regulator Mavcom has dished out fines to AirAsia Bhd and AirAsia X Bhd for illegally charging credit card, debit card and online banking processing fees.
The airlines continued to impose fees separate from the base fare after June 1 this year when new rules came into force.
The Malaysian Aviation Consumer Protection Code requires airlines to fully disclose any charges and fees as part of its final airfare.
Mavcom said it had previously issued show-cause notices to both airlines.
It imposed a financial penalty of RM200,000 for each airline.
AirAsia announced in July it was scrapping fees for using online banking and credit cards.
Customers using AirAsia’s digital wallet app BigPay pay no additional fees.
"We still have some charges to drive traffic to cheaper, safer methods but there will be methods with no fees," group chief executive officer Tony Fernandes said at the time.
Mavcom also imposed a separate unrelated fine on airport operator Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd for failing to uphold quality service standards at KLIA and klia2.
It was hit with a fine of RM1.1 million.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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