COMMENT | The dissolution of the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) on Aug 1 made protection for flyers, already poor, even worse. For millions of them, up to RM3 billion in fares for unflown flights may never be recovered.

Mavcom, which was formed specifically to address economic and commercial matters involving airlines, including consumer protection, no longer exists, the authorities acceding to the requests of airline operators such as AirAsia.

In 2019, then AirAsia Group Bhd group CEO Tony Fernandes claimed that Mavcom had failed the country’s aviation sector, saying it lacked a proper understanding of low-cost airlines.

However, then Mavcom executive chairperson Nungsari Radhi responded that its role was to ensure its work benefits the industry overall and not any one specific player.

“There are many...