[Updated] Guide To Flight Delay Compensation In Malaysia

Picture this; you’re at the airport, ready to go on a holiday that you’ve been planning for months. You’re all revved up and ready to step on the plane and leave your problems behind. But wait, you see the ‘DELAYED’ notice flash up on your flight number on the airport flight schedule screen.

What can you do?

Airlines have different policies in compensating flight delays. So here’s a quick checklist to guide you on your rights when your flight is delayed.  

Know your air travel rights in Malaysia

The Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) has general guidelines on the type of compensation that must be provided in the event of a flight delay. What you get depends on the length of the delay.

These compensations have also been enhanced under the recent Malaysian Aviation Consumer Protection (Amendment) Code (MACPC) 2024. Below is a comparison of the existing and enhanced compensation benefits.

Time	Compensation	MACPC 2024
Two hours or more	Meals, telephone calls and internet access	No change
Five hours or more (or when a stay becomes necessary	Hotel accommodation and transport plus meals, telephone calls and internet access	Add option for full refund in the original mode of payment within 30 days if you chose not to continue with the airline for your journey
Cancellation of flight	A full refund or alternative flights	No change
Flight disruptions by extraordinary circumstances	-	First offer refund in the same form as the original mode of payment. Airlines can then offer alternative forms of refund and customer must have the choice to decide on which mode of refund is preferred.
Change of flight status	-	Consumers must be notified at least two (2) weeks prior to the actual departure, unless due to extraordinary circumstances (ruling to take effect Jan 2025)
Ticket price	-	Airlines must publish all-inclusive prices at the time of advertising and before ticket purchase by consumer, including all fees and charges
Other refunds	-	Refund to customer must included mandatory refund of the fuel surcharge, taxes, fees, and charges such as the departure levy, Passenger Service Charges (PSC), carbon fee, etc. Apply to both refundable and non-refundable tickets for flights not boarded.

Flight delays extension claim

Sometimes even a single flight can have multiple delays. This is another common problem faced by travellers. You may first be informed of a two (2) hours delay which is then followed by another four (4) hours delay.

Here’s what you can claim.

Types of flight delays and cancellations you can claim

One question that you might be asking is, what about delays that affect connecting flights? For that, it depends on the ticket that you bought.

Flight delays on a single ticket to final destination

First, if your flight from destination A to destination C, with a connecting flight at destination B, is delayed at A then the airline you bought the ticket from will be held responsible to compensate you with all the compensation listed above (where it applies), and a ticket for the next available flight to your final destination.

This is because your ticket is from destination A to destination C, which means that the airline is responsible for getting you to your final destination.

Example

Raju bought a flight ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Paris from ETC Airlines, with a connecting flight at Dubai.
However, Raju’s flight from Kuala Lumpur to Dubai was delayed for five hours, causing him to miss his connecting flight from Dubai to Paris.

In this case, ETC Airlines will be responsible to compensate him with;

• Meals, telephone calls, internet access
• Hotel accommodation, transportation and,
• A new flight from Dubai to Paris.

As Raju holds a single ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Paris with ETC Airlines, ETC Airlines is required to provide Raju with a ticket for the next available flight from Dubai to Paris at no additional cost.

Flight delays with separate tickets to final destination

What happens if you hold a separate ticket from destination A to destination B with one airline, and you buy another ticket from destination B to destination C with another airline?

If the first flight from destination A to destination B is delayed which causes you to miss your flight from destination B to destination C, then the first airline is only responsible for the first flight’s delay.

Meaning, you will not be compensated for missing your connecting flight, due to the fact that the first airline is only responsible for transporting you from destination A to destination B.

Example

Maimun bought a flight ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Doha from B Airlines, and a Doha to London flight from C Airlines. However, Maimun’s flight with B Airlines was delayed for eight hours. This caused Maimun to miss her connecting flight to London with C Airlines.

So, what form of compensation is Maimun entitled to? In this case, B Airlines should compensate Maimun with;

• Meals, telephone calls, internet access
• Hotel accommodation, and transportation

As you can see here, even though Maimun missed her connecting flight to London with C Airlines due to the delay of her flight with B Airlines, B Airlines are not required to compensate her for that flight.  Another important thing to take note is that this also applies if you bought separate tickets from the same airline.

What can you claim for rescheduled and retimed flights

You may be unaware that if your flight is rescheduled for more than three (3) hours, you are entitled to choose to request for a refund or choose a re-routed flight.

Below is a common scenario which many travellers face when using airlines.

What happens if my flight is delayed in another country?

When you’re flying from other countries, it’s safe to say that the MAVCOM regulations don’t apply as MAVCOM is only responsible for flights originating from Malaysia.

But don’t worry, as your right as a passenger is still protected.

EU 261

European Union regulation EC 261, commonly referred to as EU 261, governs all EU flights on compensation, refund or rerouting by the airline in case of delay, cancellation or denied boarding. It outlines how much a passenger should be compensated, eliminating the need to negotiate with the individual airline.

If your flight is from the European Union, then chances are that you will be protected by regulation EU 261, which is designed to protect passengers facing delays, cancellations and other issues that may arise when traveling.

What EU 261 covers:

• Your flight is within the EU and is operated either by an EU or a non-EU airline
• Your flight arrives in the EU from outside the EU and is operated by an EU airline
• Your flight departs from the EU to a non-EU country operated by an EU or a non-EU airline
• If you have not already received benefits (compensation, re-routing, assistance from the airline) for flight related problems for this journey under the relevant law of a non-EU country.

Under EU 261, your compensation is tied to the distance you’re traveling. Which means that the greater the distance you’re traveling, the bigger compensation you’re entitled to.

Here’s a table of compensation under the EU 261:

Distance traveled (KM)	Entitled compensation (in Euro)
Under 1,500	250
Between 1,500 and 3,500	400
More than 3,500	600

However, it does not cover compensation if your flight is delayed due to extraordinary circumstances. It is a good idea to use credit cards that provide travel protections as long as you purchase your flights with that card.  Certain travel credit cards offer protection for flight delays and cancellations.

Montreal Convention

The Montreal Convention is an international treaty signed by over 130 countries including the United States and most of Europe. This agreement establishes protections for passengers and dictates how airlines are required to handle flight delays and cancellations.

Under the Montreal Convention, passengers are entitled to compensation when flying internationally and at least one of the countries in your flight is a participating member.

It states that passengers are entitled to claim for damages incurred from reasonable expenses. Specifically for expenses caused by flight delays, baggage delays, flight cancellations, among other things.

The maximum compensation amount under the Montreal Convention is calculated by the International Monetary Fund. It is based on Special Drawing Rights—an international reserve asset and currency basket of sorts—to determine the maximum amount of compensation passengers are entitled to.

For a list of countries that are participating in the Montreal Convention, click here.

How do I claim my compensation?

There is no specific guideline on claiming your compensation from airlines as individual airlines have their own procedures.

For example, from our conversation with Malaysian Airlines (MAS), MAS’ customer service agent advised us that in the case of delays or cancellations, what you have to do is call them with your booking number, and they will advise you with what they can compensate you with on that day.

Meanwhile AirAsia doesn’t list a Malaysian phone number on their website, so you will have to deal with their AI chat bot or you can raise a complaint on the AirAsia app.

How to get a flight delay refund at the airport

Below are the steps provided by MAVCOM for passengers who find themselves in this situation.

As stated above, it is best to contact the airline that you bought the ticket from. You can then notify and raise your concerns with them.

However, if you are not happy with how the airline handled your case, then you can also raise a complaint with MAVCOM right here.

This article has been updated on September 4, 2024.