Malaysia’s shariah airline grounded for good

Short-lived Rayani Air has operating permit revoked

Raya

Rayani Air, which hit the headlines earlier this year by becoming Malaysia’s first shariah-compliant airline, has had its operating permit revoked.
The airline launched in January 2016 but was grounded by the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) in April, following a series of operational issues that included cancelled flights and passengers being issued with hand-written boarding passes.

And this week Mavcom issued a statement saying that Rayani Air has now had its license permanently revoked.

“Rayani Air can no longer operate as a commercial airline with effect from today,” it said, adding that the airline was still liable for passenger refunds.

“Customers who have purchased tickets with Rayani Air but were not able to go on their journey may lodge a complaint with the company and seek a refund. In the event consumers are not able to obtain their refunds, they can file a civil suit for those refunds,” the statement noted.

Prior to its grounding, Rayani Air operated to five Malaysian destinations: Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi, Kota Bharu, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching. Under its shariah operations, prayers were recited before take-off, in-flight food was halal, no alcohol was served, and all flight attendants wore head-scarves.Written by:Mark Elliott /Travel News