KUALA LUMPUR – MYAirline is in the “advanced stages” of negotiations with two potential investors and is finalising a recapitalisation package to revive its operations, the troubled airline said today.
“The team is working around the clock to finalise a recapitalisation package.
“This will also facilitate the reimbursement of monies to affected passengers as well as payment of salary and statutory dues,” MYAirline said in a statement this evening.
It also said it has replied to show cause notices from aviation authorities – the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) and the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) – within the given deadline.
The airline, which suspended operations on October 12, said it had responded to CAAM on October 25, and to Mavcom on October 27.
As to its staff, MYAirline said none have been terminated, nor have any been placed on unpaid leave since the suspension.
“We do understand the difficulties faced by our staff and we would like to assure them that we are doing everything in our power to address their plight. We would encourage our staff to cooperate with us in this difficult time as we have their best interests at heart.”
It reiterated that its internal welfare fund or “Tabung Ihsan” is collecting donations from employees for those most affected among them.
Additionally, MYAirline said it had also arranged with Socso to pay out the Employee Insurance Scheme to employees.
It also assured passengers that it would “make good on all refunds” as soon as the new investors release the recapitalisation package.
“We have received over 30,000 calls and emails which are being attended to by our customer care team.
“We will continue to provide updates to our valued passengers and related stakeholders once they are made available.”
On October 12, MYAirlines made a shock announcement that it had suspended its operations effective on the same day, citing financial pressure.
Before that, the airline, which had just launched in January 2021, had been announcing plans for new routes and leasing more planes.
To date, several people including MYAirline’s co-founder and majority shareholder Datuk Allan Goh Hwan Hua, his wife and son, have been arrested to facilitate investigations into alleged money laundering. Goh is also a shareholder in e-commerce company i-Serve Online Mall, which had been fined by Bank Negara Malaysia for illegal deposit-taking. – October 31, 2023