Earlier this week, Rayani Air came under fire after Kampung Tunku assemblyman Lau Weng San posted a photo of his handwritten boarding pass that went viral on the internet. This was just one of many complaints about the airlines including reports of flight delays and cancellations.
Yesterday, Rayani Air issued a public apology and stated that it will stop issuing handwritten boarding passes with immediate effect. “Rayani Air apologises to all passengers who were affected by the flight delay and the confusion caused,” the statement reads. Moving forward, passengers would only be receiving printed boarding passes for its flights.
The Syariah-compliant airline had previously defended the handwritten passes, justifying that it was written on Rayani Air’s official thermal paper, the same material used for a normal boarding pass, with the company logo printed on the top left corner.
Referring to the issue, general manager of public relations Anisah Azharuddin added that the incident happened because of a system technicality that prevented it from printing the boarding passes electronically. The flight from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching was scheduled for 11:30pm on Friday (18th March) but was delayed to 5am on Saturday (19th March).
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai has since issued a warning saying that Rayani Air is under investigation and will likely face suspension if the Transport Ministry receives more complaints in regards to the airline regulations.
Rayani Air, which was launched on December last year, placed itself as Malaysia’s first “Syariah-compliant” airline.
Sources: Bernama, Malay Mail.
