MAHB To Resolve Airasia's Airport Tax Debt Soon - Najib

23 June 2009

KUALA LUMPUR-- Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) did not take any drastic action to claim the arrears in airport tax owed by AirAsia because it will only affect the operation of the low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT), Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Tuesday.

Najib, who is also the finance minister, said it would also give a negative impact to MAHB as the operator and manager of airports.

As AsiaAsia has chalked up arrears of RM65 million, MAHB was in negotiations with the airline to resolve the matter, he said.

MAHB was confident of resolving the matter soon, he said in a written reply to Wee Choo Keong (PKR-Wangsa Maju) who had asked him to state why MAHB had accorded AirAsia the special privilege of owing RM65 million in airport tax as at Feb 28 this year when passengers had already paid the tax in advance.

Wee had also asked why, when Air Asia had been reporting making huge profits every year from its inception, there was a need for MAHB to negotiate with AirAsia over the settlement of the airport tax debt.