Airport Tax Up! Next?
MASTERWORDSMITH
Did you know that airport tax aka passenger service charge will soon be increased? According to Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha, the operator of Malaysian airports and Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) are expected to make the announcement soon.
In a Bernama statement, Kong said the approval for the airport tax increase had been given as part of an operating agreement signed between MAHB and the Transport Ministry in February 2009. However, it had not been implemented and they left it to MAHB to implement it and to make the appropriate announcement.
In a front page story, The Sun said:
Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) is raising the tax to cover rising operating costs and finance airport expansion.
It is understood that the airport operator has proposed that the tax at the country’s 39 airports it manages, excluding low cost carrier terminals (LCCTs), be raised by RM14 for international travellers from Sept 15. These travellers will have to pay RM65 from RM51 (RM45 for airport tax and RM6 for security charge) now.
The last increase was in 2002, when the charges were raised to RM45 from RM40 for international passengers and RM6 from RM5 for domestic departures
According to sources, the tax at low-cost carrier terminals (LCCTs) in Sepang and the Kota Kinabalu International Airport will also likely be raised by RM7, bringing the airport tax to RM32 from the current RM25 for international passengers.
However, it is not known how much more domestic travellers at KLIA, other airports and LCCTs will have to fork out.
