Malaysia's Minister of Transport Anthony Loke has demanded that Batik Air Malaysia apologizes to its customers for a seven-hour delay that left passengers stranded overnight in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. The incident was brought to his attention after one of the passengers on the flight posted a video about it and urged the transport minister to take action on Twitter.

The incident

Batik Air Malaysia flight 7634 was originally scheduled to take off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) towards Kuching International Airport (KCH) at 13:20 on Thursday, December 22nd. As passengers began to arrive at the airport to check in for their flight, they were informed that it had been delayed until 02:00. Eventually, the flight time was updated on the departure board to 06:35, which is when it actually ended up taking off.

According to Firdaus Jailan--the passenger that posted the video to Twitter--the staff member that checked him in had assured him that the first delay was going to be the only one, and when the second delay was reflected on the departure board, there wasn't a single staff member at the gate to handle the situation and provide passengers with amenities.

Mr. Loke has since reached out to Batik Air Malaysia and assured Mr. Jailan via Twitter that the airline will apologize to customers.

Batik Air Malaysia was known as Malindo Air up until April of this year when the carrier changed its name as part of a rebranding effort.

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Holding airlines accountable for delays

Mr. Loke's response continues a trend of the Malaysian Ministry of Transport holding airlines responsible for delays.

When more than 500 flights were delayed in May due to the Hari Raya Puasa festival, the transport minister at the time (Wee Ka Siong) issued a statement emphasizing the importance of punctuality and reminding airlines that delays can cause travelers to miss connecting flights.

Unfortunately, the transport minister's statement didn't prevent MP Wilfred Madius Tangau's AirAsia flight from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabulu from being delayed from 20:00 to 22:00 and then to 00:30.

Mr. Tangau ended up arranging for transport on a different flight that was scheduled to leave at 23:10 but ended up being delayed as well.

The incident with Batik Air Malaysia ultimately comes at a time when the Malaysian Ministry of Transport is trying to crack down on airlines that delay flights and ensure punctuality. Although the ministry's efforts have not been particularly effective, they demonstrate a commitment to protecting consumer rights and are a step in the right direction. Hopefully, Mr. Loke's words will have an effect on Batik Air Malaysia as well as other airlines and incentivize them to do better in the future.

Source: CNA