KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 — MYAirline interim accountable executive Datuk Seri Azharuddin Abdul Rahman today said that the reason the airline suspended its operations was due to a lack of a contingency plan and investor withdrawal.

Azharudin, who is also the director, apologised for not being more transparent with their customers, which left thousands stranded at the airports recently.

"We acknowledge and understand the frustration experienced by our passengers. This situation arose due to our lack of a contingency plan, compounded by a last-minute investor withdrawal,” he said during a press conference at its headquarters today.

In addition, MYAirline also acknowledged its communication shortcomings with both the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) and the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM), specifically for failure to engage with authorities and passengers in a timelier manner before deciding to temporarily suspend its operations.

He said the abrupt action was taken out of concern for the safety of its passengers and employees on a flight that operated from Wednesday night to early Thursday morning.

"We issued the suspension notice at 0530 on Thursday morning. While we promptly cancelled the morning flights on Thursday, we acknowledge that some passengers on later flights were already at the airport, and this was an oversight on our part,” he added.

As for the fate of the airline’s staff, Azharuddin said staff welfare remains its top priority and as soon as funding is secured, they will prioritise statutory payments and September salaries.

He emphasised that all staff members remain under MYAirline employment, with no one placed on unpaid leave or terminated to date.

The airlines also said they have met the Human Resources Ministry (MoHR) to update them on this matter.

Azharuddin also provided an update on the status of key personnel in higher management, confirming that Stuart Cross has resigned and is no longer an employee of MYAirline.

Cross was the airline’s interim chief executive officer.