25 January 2011

It is time to set up an independent regulatory body to guide the airline industry’s development, said AirAsia Bhd group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes.

He said a body akin to the Malaysia Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) was needed to help the airline industry grow.

“An independent regulator is needed to decide on what is best for the Malaysian airline industry,” Fernandes said when contacted in Bhutan.

He said the body should also decide on standards for best practices in the industry to ensure that Malaysia remained competitive as a hub for the region.

Fernandes added that the regulator should comprise aviation experts and captains of the tourism and banking industries.

On the new KLIA2 to be completed in October 2012, Fernandes said AirAsia would move in only when the terminal is deemed “operationally safe.”

He also urged Malaysia Airports Berhad (MAB) to maintain aiport taxes for low-cost carriers at RM6 and RM25 for domestic and international passengers respectively.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha, at a press conference earlier, said the present LCCT was running at over-capacity, having handled 15.3 million passengers last year.

“They (low-cost carriers) have to move. The current LCCT was only a temporary LCCT.

“We also need it as a cargo terminal. KLIA2 will be a much nicer terminal than the current LCCT,” Kong said after witnessing the transfer of a new flight inspection system (FIS) from local contractor Systematic Aviation Services Sdn Bhd to the Department of Civil Aviation yesterday.

This article is a verbatim copy of the original article from The Star.