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SARAWAK PAS commissioner Jofri Jaraiee was left stunned after he discovered it would cost him RM4,000 for a return flight from Miri to Kuala Lumpur.
“I was searching for affordable tickets when I found a one-way ticket from Miri to KLIA would cost me RM2,000.
“That is more expensive than going to an international holiday destination!
“I feel sorry for those who have no choice but to book a flight due to urgent personal or family matters or those who have important business matters to attend to that require them to fly urgently. The situation is indeed serious,” he said.
Yesterday, Miri MP Chiew Choon Man said the abrupt cancellations of Malaysia Airlines scheduled flights and subsequent reduction of flights coming into Sarawak had caused the skyrocketing of airfare prices from local destinations to peninsula states and beyond, and vice versa.
Chiew, from Sarawak Parti Keadilan Rakyat, said the sudden developments involving MAS (and Firefly) had then triggered a sharp increase in demand for seats for Sarawak routes on other national carriers, especially Air Asia.
“These sudden developments on flight cancellations and reduction of incoming flights caused airfares to surge.
“The limited seats available have worsened the situation.
“I will raise this matter for the urgent attention of the Dewan Rakyat in the next sitting.
“I will propose that airlines offer special discounts to passengers of affected routes in Sarawak to ease the financial woes now until a long-term solution can be found to bring down the costs of airfares involving Sarawak routes,” he had said in a press statement.
Miri is one of the worst-affected sectors, along with Sibu, Kuching, and Bintulu.
Sarawak residents are of the view that politicians from Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) must share the blame for the exorbitant airfare fiasco affecting the state.
They told The Vibes that politicians on both sides of the divide could not push the blame to each other anymore as they are in the government and should work out a way to resolve the issue.
GPS politicians and those from Sarawak PH have been criticising each other over the past week, accusing each other of being responsible for not getting the national airlines to bring down airfares, but none of them offered any viable solutions. – September 6, 2024.
