KUALA LUMPUR – Travellers are up in arms over low-cost carrier MYAirline’s sudden suspension of operations, claiming that the move is “inconvenient” as no prior warning was provided to passengers who had already purchased tickets with the airline.
Taking to Twitter, user @puteriibalqiis shared that she was already at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) waiting to board her MYAirline flight to Kota Kinabalu for an urgent matter when she heard of the airline’s suspension via social media.
Please la jangan buat orang macamni. I dah ada dekat klia tau tunggu nak check in baggage flight jam 7.30 pagi ni. I tunggu dari jam 4 pagi sampai 5.40 pagi tapi satu pekerja pun tak ada, kaunter myairline semua tutup. Semua kosong? Penumpang semua tunggu macam orang bodoh tau. https://t.co/z2llhNaM6G
— 𝑴𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒂(@puteriibalqiis) October 11, 2023
“Please don’t do this to people. I was already at KLIA waiting to check-in my baggage for my 7.30am flight. I was waiting there from 4am to 5.40am, but there was not even one MYAirline employee, all the counters were closed.
“MYAirline’s counters were all empty. Passengers were made to wait as if we’re stupid. They should have told us about it earlier, don’t mistreat us like this by informing us about any changes at the last minute,” she said in a series of frustrated tweets.
Another user on the social media platform, @imShahidah, pressed the airline to disclose its full refund process, lamenting how the company’s decision to put up an email address with no contact number might cause distress among customers.
“This is really an inconvenience to passengers who have bought tickets. I’m one of the affected passengers, and I need to know the full refund process.
“I have sent you an email and am expecting an answer as soon as possible,” she added, crediting the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) in a subsequent tweet for its statement on dedicated hotlines and channels to assist affected consumers.
For user @AymnHzwni, her future travel plans have been negatively impacted by the abrupt suspension of MYAirline’s operations, saying: “Last July, I bought flight tickets for a trip in November because the tickets were cheap and I saw good reviews.
“But now, they’ve suddenly ceased operations without informing us. I had to cancel the trip that I was so excited about because flight tickets from other (airlines) are now over RM1,000,” she bemoaned.
Bought flight tickets for a trip in Nov last July sebab nak murah and saw good reviews but they suddenly ceased operations without informing us. Had to cancel the trip that I was so excited about because harga flight ticket now from other operators is rm1k ++ ??!!! https://t.co/4PknpeQ1rr
— A.H.(@AymnHzwni) October 12, 2023
Meanwhile, others attempted to find humour amidst the chaos of angry and disappointed consumers, joking that the airline’s last-minute announcement of its halted operations comes across as if the business was merely a “night market stall” or “restaurant”.
“They suspended operations on October 12 but only came out with a statement on October 12 at 5am. Did they not learn about responsibility or accountability?” one user known as @meinmokhtar questioned.
The latest development comes after the low-cost carrier announced the suspension of its operations effective today, until further notice.
In a statement today, the fledgling company stated that it had come to this “extremely painful decision” due to significant financial pressures, which made it necessary to suspend operations pending the shareholder restructuring and recapitalisation of the airline. – October 12, 2023