KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 3): The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said today AirAsia will refund affected customers after incorrectly levying the passenger movement charge (PMC) to children under 12 years old on certain flights from Darwin to Bali between December 2010 and September 2017.

In a statement today, the ACCC said AirAsia has identified around 9,700 customers who have been affected by the conduct. The ACCC said it had earlier raised the concerns with AirAsia following media reports on the matter.

According to the ACCC, children under the age of 12 are exempted from the PMC under Australia's Passenger Movement Charge Collection Act 1978.

The ACCC deputy chair Dr Michael Schaper said in the statement: "Some AirAsia customers have been incorrectly charged for a levy of up to A$60 (about RM195) that did not apply. Affected customers should contact AirAsia to obtain a refund for that charge.

"AirAsia has acted quickly to address the error and has committed to providing refunds within 21 days of receiving supporting documentation from affected customers. The ACCC will monitor the refund process."

According to the ACCC's statement, affected customers should have received an email from AirAsia by today.

At the time of writing, AirAsia had not issued a statement in response to the ACCC's statement. At Bursa Malaysia, AirAsia Bhd shares were traded at RM3:43 at 10:11am while AirAsia X Bhd shares changed hands at 38.5 sen.