Transport minister: 51pc of MYAirline must be owned by Malaysian company, despite interests from the Middle East

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 12 — Transport Minister Anthony Loke today said that any new buyers for troubled MYAirline must fulfil several criteria before they can purchase the airline.

He said even if they have the money to buy the airlines entirely as per local law the majority owner or 51 per cent of the company's ownership must still go to a Malaysian company.

“We are not sure what the proposal is but we are meeting them today, shortly,” he told reporters when met at the Ministry of Transport (MoT) headquarters in Putrajaya.

“We want to know what are the proposals, and the status right now and our priority is whatever application they make, a few conditions must be imposed if they want to restart the operations. They must make sure all refunds previously must be made and whatever deals offered to the staff must be paid. If they meet these two conditions we can talk.

“Without these two (conditions) no way, we can't compromise on this and thirdly in terms of their safety and such they must follow normal procedure," he said.

This morning it was reported that a Middle Eastern investor was keen on buying troubled MYAirline. It was said that the airline applied to the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) for a conditional air service license (ASL), thereafter uplifting the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) before obtaining a full ASL to operate.

Loke said no matter who the investors are 51 per cent of the company must be owned by a Malaysian company.

“That's the law and the majority must be Malaysian and the Mavcom will go through a thorough investigation to ensure that,” he added.

MYAirline flew over one million passengers domestically on June 26, 2023, a few months after its inaugural flight as a low-cost carrier in Malaysia.

The airline had an average load factor of 91 per cent and flew eight Airbus A320-200 till October 12, delivering a healthy on-time performance beyond 90 per cent.

It started with two aircraft, and within its 11 months of operation, it had nine in its fleet.

On October 12, MYAirline made a sudden announcement that it had suspended its operations effective on the same day, citing financial pressure as the reason.