SEPANG: Transport Minister Anthony Loke (pic) is standing by the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) amid calls for its abolition by several airlines.

“Airlines have to comply with regulations and conditions, so if Mavcom has made any decision, they have to stand by it," he told reporters after launching the FlySmart platform at KLIA on Thursday.

Loke said he was briefed on issues related to Mavcom which had acted in line with the regulations.

"If they (companies) feel they were unfairly treated, then its up to them to take further actions,” he added.

For the moment, Loke said that Mavcom would "continue to operate as usual".

On the new Passenger Service Charge (PSC), Loke said Mavcom is still reviewing the current charges.

He added the new PSC rates would be announced once a study is completed within the next few months.

He was responding to claims by several airlines that they had their "wings clipped" and treated unfairly by Mavcom under the previous administration.

On Tuesday (June 26), charter airlines, Eaglexpress Air Charter Sdn Bhd and Suasa Airlines Sdn Bhd, joined calls with AirAsia Bhd, urging the new government to abolish Mavcom.

Mavcom was set up in March two years ago under the Malaysian Aviation Commission Act 2015 to regulate civil aviation industry.

Currently, all Air Service Licence (ASL) application comes under Mavcom rather than the Department of Civil Aviation.

In December 2016, Mavcom revoked the licence of Eaglexpress as the umrah and haj pilgrim carrier did not meet the statutory requirement of having a minimum of RM30mil in its account while Suasa's licence was suspended.