Figure 1: Distinction between the roles of the agencies
governing economic and technical regulation
– Ireland, India, and the Philippines also have
separate regulatory authorities for economic and
technical regulation.
In addition, MAVCOM comprises industry
professionals from various airlines and airports.
The Commission has a strong team in place,
allowing it to function effectively in looking
after the civil aviation industry and aviation
consumers. In line with its mandate to regulate
economic and commercial matters pertaining to
the sector, the Commission has also been put
in charge of ground handling matters, including
issuing Ground Handling Licences (GHL) to those
who wish to carry out ground handling services
in Malaysia.
Shortly after MAVCOM was established,
a moratorium on issuances of GHL to new
applicants was imposed on April 25, 2016 as part
of the Commission’s rationalisation exercise of
the ground handling industry, and the moratorium
was only lifted on June 1, 2019. The objective
of this exercise was to ascertain legitimate
ground handlers and facilitate a stronger ground
handling sector in Malaysia. Pursuant to the
review, MAVCOM identified 64 ground handlers in
Malaysia prior to the Commission’s establishment.
These ground handlers were then asked to register
with the Commission in accordance with Section
103 of the Malaysian Aviation Commission Act
2015. Applicants were also required to register
with CAAM for Technical Approval (TA).
Applications were assessed by MAVCOM
based on several necessary standards, including
the feasibility of their proposed business plan, as
well as the financial viability of the business.
Of the 64, only 39 Ground Handling Service
Providers (GHSP) were successfully registered and
of these, nine applications were withdrawn due to
incomplete documentation or non-submission.
As such, 30 ground handlers were approved for
GHL based on the fitness and eligibility of the
service provider. As of July 13, 2019, there are 29
ground handlers who have been approved by the
Commission to provide ground handling services
in Malaysia.
MAVCOM is currently collaborating with the
Ministry of Transport to look at ways to further
liberalise the ground handling sector so that the
sector has wider access to capital and technology.
The ground handling sector involves general
ground handling, catering, and refuelling, with
catering being the most concentrated market.
General ground handling comprises primary,
secondary and general aviation handlers. Primary
handlers offer a comprehensive range of ground
handling services to all major airlines operating in
the country. Secondary handlers typically provide a
selected number of ground handling services and
are engaged as vendors to the primary handlers.
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