AirAsia, Malaysia Airlines now require passengers’ names to fully match their official documents

SINGAPORE: People who expect to be booking flights on Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia would do well to take note of the carriers’ updated name entry rules.

For Malaysia Airlines, passengers must now enter their full names in the exact same way that they appear in their official documents, such as national ID cards and passports.

This will help avoid discrepancies when passengers check in, according to a report in The Star on Jun 12 (Thursday). The report noted that the move aims to address long-standing issues, particularly for individuals with names that do not conform to conventional formats or are otherwise unique. It also helps the airlines conform to standard industry practices.

Under the updated rules, passengers fill in parts of their names, such as “bin,” “binti,” or “anak,” into the field for last names or surnames.

The Star gave the example of a person named Ahmad Faliq bin Hamedi, as written on their passport. This passenger would write “Ahmad Faliq” in the fields for first and middle names, and then “Bin Hamedi” in the field for last name or surname.

The official guidelines for Malaysia Airlines may be found on the carrier’s website here. It includes instructions on what to do when a person’s name exceeds the character length limit or when their name has a hyphen, a non-roman character, or if their first or last name consists of a single letter. They may also contact the carrier’s customer service for assistance.

AirAsia, meanwhile, has similarly begun to use a clear “Given Name” and “Family Name/Surname” format, as this would also be better for Malaysian, Chinese, Indian, Filipino, Thai, and Vietnamese names, the airline said.

For names with special symbols, the carrier instructed passengers on what to do.

“If your name is spelled with a ‘@’ or second name in your Identification Card, remove the ‘@’, insert a space between the two names. If your name contains ‘A/P’ or ‘A/L’, please omit it unless it appears in the ‘Name’ section of your passport.”

People whose names have a hyphen, meanwhile, should leave a space when booking.

The airline also issued a reminder that passengers are not allowed to change the name on their booking to transfer it to another person once the booking has already been confirmed. However, name corrections in case of errors and misspellings may be allowed.

Passengers who need more information on the matter may reach out to AirAsia this way. /TISG

Read also: Malaysia Airlines to ban power bank use on flights from April 1 to ensure flight safety, and no, it’s not an “April Fool’s” prank