MAHB Managing Director Badlisham Ghazali, speaking to reporters after unveiling the five-year plan for MAHB today, said the government will have to look at the charges before coming to a decision.

The airport tax is reviewed every five years.

The current airport tax for Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is RM65 for international passengers and RM9 for domestic passengers.

At the budget carrier terminal KLIA2, the airport tax is RM32 for international passengers and RM6 for domestic passengers.

Before this, Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai had hinted that the airport tax, also known as the passenger service charge, may be increased.

Asked on the recent announcement by the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) to hike aviation fees, Badlisham said the airline industry needs investments to upgrade its facilities.

He said with a more efficient air space, aircraft would not have to circle several times before landing, thus attracting more airlines to fly to Malaysia.

“We want more aircraft, which means more passengers, more tourists,” he said.

Under the proposal, air navigation flight charges will increase from the current five sen per nautical mile to 50 sen for light aircraft not exceeding 2,500kg.

For bigger aircraft such as Airbus A320/A330 and Boeing B737/B777, the cost will rise to RM1-RM2.50 per nautical mile compared with 10-25 sen currently, while for planes exceeding 135,000kg, the rate will increase from 30 sen to RM3 per nautical mile.