Industry / Introduction
Introduction
The Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) was established on 1 March 2016 under the Malaysian Aviation Commission Act 2015 (Act 771), to function as an independent economic regulator for the civil aviation industry in Malaysia.
MAVCOM is responsible for the regulation of economic and commercial matters within the civil aviation industry. Its responsibilities include the issuance of Air Services Licences (ASL) for journeys with a fixed schedule, such as for timetabled commercial flights and Air Service Permits (ASP) for non-scheduled services, such as for chartered flights. The Commission also issues out Aerodrome Operator Licences (AOL) for airport operators and Ground Handling Licences (GHL) to those who wish to carry out ground handling services in Malaysia.
Its responsibilities also cover the administration and allocation of air traffic rights to airlines based on the available capacity of each route and the approval of schedule filing.
MAVCOM is also empowered to administer and manage public service obligation routes. In Malaysia, the principal example is the Rural Air Services which connect remote, sparsely populated, or otherwise inaccessible parts of Malaysia with the rest of the country.
These responsibilities are reflected in the main objectives and functions of the Commission, as laid out in Section 17 of Act 771, which are to:
- regulate economic matters relating to the civil aviation industry in Malaysia;
- provide a mechanism for protection of consumers in the civil aviation industry in Malaysia;
- provide a mechanism for dispute resolution between aviation industry players;
- administer and manage air traffic rights;
- monitor slot allocation for airlines or other aircraft operators;
- administer and manage routes under public service obligations, including the provision of advice to the Ministry of Transport with regard to policies for public service obligations;
- facilitate and co-ordinate matters of interest to the Malaysian civil aviation industry between aviation service providers and government agencies; and
- perform any other function necessary to any of the functions above.
