Traveler guides / Your rights
Flight delayed or cancelled in Malaysia? What you’re owed
If your flight is covered by Malaysia’s Aviation Consumer Protection Code and it is delayed by five hours or more, you can choose a full refund instead of flying. Here is what the rules say, and how to claim without losing time.
Delayed five hours or more
- If you no longer want to travel: the airline must refund you in full, to your original payment method, within 30 days.
- If you still fly: you are entitled to free meals and refreshments, limited calls and internet access, and a hotel plus transport to it where an overnight stay is needed.
Cancelled or rescheduled
- When a route stops or a flight is rescheduled, you can take a full refund within 30 days, or be rebooked at no extra charge on the earliest available flight or a later date that suits you.
- If you are moved to a different airport, the airline must pay for your transfer to the airport you booked or a nearby destination you agree to.
- For a schedule change of three hours or more, the airline must tell you once the new time is set, or at least 24 hours before the original departure.
- Since 1 January 2025, airlines must give at least two weeks’ notice of a departure-time change, unless they can show extraordinary or technical reasons.
When the cause is outside the airline’s control
For delays or cancellations caused by extraordinary circumstances, such as sudden weather changes or security risks, the airline may offer a travel voucher or credit shell. A full refund remains an option alongside it, so ask before you accept a voucher.
If you don’t fly and your fare is non-refundable
Even when the fare itself is not refundable, the airline must return government taxes and fees such as airport passenger service charges and departure levies. Many travellers never ask for these.
How to claim, step by step
- Keep the evidence. Save your booking reference, e-ticket number, the airline’s delay or change notice, and receipts for meals or transport you paid for.
- Ask whoever issued your ticket. If you booked through an agency or website, they hold the ticket and usually have to process the refund or rebooking with the airline.
- Choose refund or rebooking before accepting a voucher. Once a voucher is issued, switching back can be slow.
- Escalate if you get no answer. Complaints about airlines and airports now go to the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM), which took over these functions from MAVCOM on 1 August 2025. File through FlySmart online, in the FlySmart app, or on 1800-18-6966 (from outside Malaysia: +603-7651 2777).
From the ticketing desk: a refund request with the booking reference, ticket number and the airline’s notice attached is far quicker to process than a one-line email.