KUALA LUMPUR: A student missed her flight from Sandakan to Kuala Lumpur due to the confusion about the 24-hour time system used by an airline.
Mohd Hisham Romel, in a Facebook post, said his sister had missed the flight because of confusion about AirAsia's time system.
Hisham said many students were also missing their flights due to confusion about the time system.
"In the boarding pass, 'AM' or 'PM' is also not mentioned.
"Only '01.15' is mentioned. Not everyone can understand whether it's in the morning or the evening.
"A ticket worth more than RM500 is automatically burnt. When checked today (Monday), the price has gone up to RM1,200."
He advised people going back to their hometowns to check the time on their tickets to avoid a similar fate as his sister.
"Students from UIS (University Islam Selangor) are back in their dorms while my sister has to extend her vacation."
The post went viral, sparking discussion about Hisham's story.
DQ AiYeen said: "I'm sorry, but when we buy tickets, don't we choose the time?
"The website also uses 24-hour time because AirAsia displays flight times early, right?
"So if your flight is in the evening, it will show as 13:30.
"If it's 01:30, it's definitely in the morning.
"However, if you didn't buy the ticket yourself, it's understandable to be confused when receiving the boarding pass, especially for those who didn't make the booking."
Sitti Aysah Damran said: "Indeed, that's how most airlines' system operate, using numerical time instead of distinguishing between AM and PM.
"The Sandakan airport operates 24 hours during festive seasons.
"A reminder: when buying flight tickets, it's crucial to double-check and ensure that our tickets are linked to our phone calendars because emails are needed for reminders to connect directly to the calendar."
Lyanna Ahmad said: "In my opinion, this isn't the airline's fault.
"Next time, synchronise it with Google Calendar on your phone. Not everyone knows how to read a 24-hour time system because not knowing can lead to a loss for oneself. By the way, enjoy your extended vacation, it's a blessing."