“Not The Metre Rate” Tourist Locked In Car And Forced To Pay RM300 At KLIA

18 Jun 2026 • 7:30 PM MYT
In Real Life MY
In Real Life MY

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The post “Not The Metre Rate” Tourist Locked In Car And Forced To Pay RM300 At KLIA appeared first on In Real Life.

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A tourist named Mitra Ardron shared in the Facebook group Kuala Lumpur Travel Tips how he was deceived by an illegal taxi driver at KLIA Terminal 2 after landing on a flight from Calcutta, India.

How the driver operated

With his eSIM not connecting and a connecting flight to catch, Mitra was approached outside the terminal by a man who told him the shuttle bus and train had not yet started operating. That was a lie. The free shuttle bus between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 runs 24 hours. He offered a ride at a metre rate.

Once inside the car, the driver left the airport entirely and drove to a petrol station some distance away, asking Mitra to withdraw cash from an ATM since he wanted to pay by card. At Terminal 1, the driver demanded RM450. 

When Mitra proposed going to the police to verify the correct fare, the driver locked the doors and refused to let him out. Mitra paid RM300 as the driver’s final offer and lodged a police report afterwards. Police confirmed the correct fare should have been around RM50.

Mitra shared the car plate number publicly as a warning in his Facebook post.

A familiar story at KLIA

This is not the first time something like this has happened at KLIA. Similar complaints have surfaced repeatedly over the years. 

Tourists arrive, get approached near the exits, are quoted one price and charged another, and the cycle continues with little visible change on the ground.

What tourists remember 

Malaysia’s tourism industry is built on hospitality. For some visitors, the first Malaysian they meet after landing is someone who lies to them, drives them to an ATM, and locks them in a car until they pay.

What does it say about a country’s tourism reputation when the airport is where visitors first learn not to trust the people there?

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