AirAsia Group has paid RM41.55 million ringgits (USD9.95 million) in overdue passenger charges to Malaysia Airports, the operator of Kuala Lumpur International, obeying a ruling by the Kuala Lumpur High Court from July 18 that sided with the airport operator in three civil suits filed against AirAsia and AirAsia X.
The group said in a stock market filing that it had paid the sum on September 18, specifically RM27.39 million (USD6.56 million) from AirAsia X and RM14.16 million (USD3.39 million) from AirAsia.
On September 6, Malaysia Airports had served garnishee orders, which are orders to recover money, on three banks that work with AirAsia and AirAsia X, forcing the banks to put aside the funds for payment.
The passenger charges have long been disputed between AirAsia and Malaysia Airports, with both parties filing suits against each other. AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes and co-founder Datuk Kamarudin Meranun had protested the court ruling in mid-July, saying: "AirAsia strongly believes that the court has erred and we will appeal this decision."
Fernandes claimed in a recent LinkedIn post that the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom), which had refused his requests to mediate between airline group and airport operator, had failed the country’s aviation sector. Among his grievances, he listed the RM1 “regulatory service charge” imposed on all passengers flying out of airports in Malaysia, in addition to the passenger charges AirAsia Group was forced to pay.
The payments came in the same week that Fernandes announced he was relinquishing most of his board positions except at AirAsia Group and AirAsia X, while continuing as group chief executive and CEO of airasia.com. He said on Twitter that the move would allow new generations of leaders to “move into the forefront”, but he did not give a timeline for the change.
