In an internal email sighted by FMT today, MYAirline said it had to suspend operations effective immediately because of “severe financial challenges”.

In a statement issued this afternoon, the carrier apologised for any inconvenience arising from the suspension and said it will provide updates in a timely manner.

“The board, shareholders and all of us at MYAirline will be working tirelessly to resume operations as quickly as possible but, at this stage, we are unable to commit to any timeline,” it said.

The low-cost carrier added that it reached the “extremely painful decision” because of significant financial pressures that made it necessary to suspend operations pending a shareholder restructuring and recapitalisation of the airline.

MYAirline also said that it had worked tirelessly to explore various partnership and capital raising options to prevent the suspension.

“Unfortunately, the constraints of time have left us with no alternative but to take this decision,” it said.

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) said that about 5,000 passengers were affected by the suspension of MYAirline’s operations.

MAHB said a total of 39 domestic flights and one international flight to Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, were affected.

The Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) said MYAirline has to refund all the affected customers and must stop accepting bookings until further notice.

Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia and Batik Air have stepped in to offer re-allocation assistance and discounts to affected passengers.

Formerly known as Z9 Elite Sdn Bhd, MYAirline was established in January 2021 and took to the skies for the first time on Dec 1, 2022, with flights from Kuala Lumpur to Langkawi, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.

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