It has been confirmed that 1 August 2025 will be the official date for the dissolution of Malaysia’s economic regulator for civil aviation, the Malaysian Aviation Commission (“
MAVCOM”), with its functions to be assumed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (“
CAAM”), the country’s technical and safety regulator.
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These changes are in accordance with the
Malaysia Aviation Commission (Dissolution) Act 2024 and the
Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (Amendment) Act 2024, which will come into operation on 1 August 2025 under
Gazette Notifications P.U.(B) 280/2025 and P.U.(B) 279/2025 respectively.
MAVCOM is a relatively new regulatory body, having just been established about nine years ago in March 2016, with the principal goal of promoting a commercially viable, consumer-oriented and resilient civil aviation industry. MAVCOM’s most notable powers include the regulation of competition matters within the aviation industry, the protection of consumers within the aviation industry, and the regulation of several key aviation service charges. MAVCOM’s functions are currently very distinct from that of CAAM, with the latter focusing on the efficient management of the safety and security of civil aviation.
However, the use of dual civil aviation regulators had been cited as overly bureaucratic and cumbersome by some industry players, particularly in relation to licensing services. Under the current system, any person seeking to use an aircraft to transport passengers, mail or cargo for hire or reward between two or more places, of which at least one place is in Malaysia, must first apply to CAAM for an air operator certificate and must thereafter separately apply to MAVCOM for an air service licence or permit. As such, a sole regulator may streamline the process of obtaining such licences.
The upcoming rationalisation of MAVCOM and CAAM will not remove any of MAVCOM’s existing powers, such as those set out above, but instead will directly transfer all these powers to CAAM. As such, CAAM will soon assume full responsibility for all regulatory functions within the civil aviation industry, including licencing services,
Alert by Eric Gabriel Gomez (Senior Associate) of the Aviation Practice of Skrine.