[UPDATED] MoT must act against airlines charging ‘bloodsucking’ fares: Bung Moktar

KOTA KINABALU – Sabah Umno chief Datuk Bung Moktar Radin today urged the transport ministry to clamp down on sky-high flight ticket prices over the Hari Raya Aidilfitri season, slamming airlines for being “bloodsuckers” out to squeeze a profit from Sabahans hoping to fly home to celebrate the coming holiday with their families.

He said many Sabahans have complained of exorbitant airfares, which he claimed could cost up to RM3,600 for a one-way ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Sabah on economy class.

“The Sabah community have complained about this phenomenon, and MAS and AirAsia are seen like bloodsuckers to their passengers,” Bung said in a Facebook post, referring to national carrier Malaysia Airlines and budget airline AirAsia.

Bung said many Sabahans working or living in Kuala Lumpur have given up on flying back home for Aidilfitri as they simply cannot afford the airfares.

“The transport ministry must step in and deal with this issue immediately,” he said.

Sabah Umno youth chief Abdul Aziz Julkarnain echoed Bung’s call for the government to clamp down on airfares that have surged without any control or monitoring.

Sharing a screenshot of MAS ticket prices on Facebook, Abdul Aziz said ticket prices had already gone over RM2,800 for a one-way trip from Kota Kinabalu to Kuala Lumpur today, well before the Aidilfitri holiday on May 3.

“This is very unreasonable and burdensome for Sabahans who want to fly to Kuala Lumpur either for work or during the festive holidays,” he said.

“In short, I am unable to fly to Kuala Lumpur today because of these unreasonable and burdensome fares.”

He said airlines operating in the country should develop a pricing formula with a maximum threshold for profits to ensure fares do not become unwieldy and exploit passengers, especially now when Malaysians are only starting to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, it is understood that Sabah tourism, culture and environment minister Datuk Jaffry Ariffin, who is also Sabah Umno secretary, has convened an emergency conference on the issue.

Earlier, Sabah chief minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor had urged the transport ministry to step in and reduce fares for flights from Kuala Lumpur to Sabah over the Aidilfitri holidays. – The Vibes, April 14, 2022