Other sources of income include charging for licences.

Sources said the passenger service charges (PSC) for travellers had also come under review.

“At this stage it is still exploring and a decision has to be made at some point. Since it began, it had been funded by the government,” an airline executive said.

Last year 83.5 million passengers travelled through the many airports in Malaysia and this year the figure will be higher, as demand for air travel in this region remains buoyant.

“If they charge 1 ringgit per passenger, they can easily make 83.5 million ringgit a year, and this does not include the other licensing fees they will be collecting from airlines.”

While passengers have funded civil-aviation authorities’ operations in such places as Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, Britain and Germany, other countries, Malaysia included, have so far resisted attempts to impose on passengers who are already burdened by onerous airport charges.

“The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, Energy Commission and the Securities Commission are regulators that do not depend on consumers for funding,” another industry executive said.

“They impose fees and manage their operations from those fees. Perhaps Mavcom should look in that direction instead of getting travellers to fork out money to sustain them.”

Mavcom regulates economic and commercial matters related to civil aviation in the country. It will introduce a set of regulations for the industry and help the government map the future of the industry.

It also will issue some licences to airlines, ground handlers and airport operations, from which it can collect fees to sustain its operations.

However, the amount collected may not be sufficient, so it is eyeing the travellers’ option.

“The imposition of any fee will have an impact on the travel industry and the consumer even though the fee may be small. It just adds to the amount travellers need to pay.

“With the PSC hike, it will just raise the cost of travelling,” one of the executives said.

Travellers already have to pay for the PSC, administrative fees, ancillary charges and even travel insurance on top of the airfare. Some airlines have not removed the fuel surcharge they imposed years ago.

For now, fuel charges remain reasonable, but if fuel prices were to rise further, airlines might impose surcharges, adding to charges on consumers.

“No doubt travelling by air is a luxury, but don’t tax the traveller to stymie demand growth,” one of the executives said.

The PSCs at KLIA2, the low-cost-carrier terminal at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, for international and domestic destinations are 32 ringgit and 6 ringgit per passenger, while at KLIA, the main terminal, they are 65 ringgit and 9 ringgit.

Mavcom will allocate and manage air-traffic rights, provide a mechanism to resolve disputes among players, monitor slot allocation for airlines and airport operators and be involved in consumer protection.