AirAsia X agrees to compensate passengers after Australia scheduling snafu

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Malaysian budget airline AirAsia X Bhd said on Tuesday it will compensate travellers inconvenienced by its decision to quit direct flights to the Australian city of Adelaide after authorities received a "significant number" of complaints.

In a statement on its website, the Kuala Lumpur-listed carrier said it has now reimbursed travellers forced to cancel, rebook on other airlines or make their own way to other Australian cities to catch its flights after it quit the South Australian state capital in January.

The airline added that it has also compensated passengers affected when it sold flights between the Australian city of Melbourne and Denpasar, Indonesia, from December, before it had obtained Australian regulatory clearance. That also forced customers to change their flights.

"These actions by AirAsia X led to a significant number of consumer complaints (about) significant delays in receiving refunds and concerns over the treatment of out-of-pocket expenses incurred," the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said in a statement on Tuesday.

Customers of any business are entitled to prompt compensation if the business fails to deliver a contracted service, the commission said.

AirAsia X said it will process any future claims within 14 days.

It did not specify how many customers were affected or how much it has paid in compensation.

(Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Ryan Woo)