SANDAKAN – The Sandakan district may only reap the benefit from its RM81-million extended airport runway approximately a year from now, said Sandakan Tourism Association president C.K. Teo.
He said that even though Sandakan Airport can now accommodate Code C aircraft without weight limitations, and up to six hours’ flight time, it is simply “a bad time” for airlines to be considering adding new routes post-pandemic.
“Airline companies worldwide are being cautious at the moment. For one, their aircraft had stopped operating for almost two years because of the pandemic.
The planes will need to undergo maintenance and this will take a long time as not many companies are qualified to handle maintenance processes.
“In other words, a lot of planes are waiting in long queues at the moment, so airline companies are lacking planes at the moment. They are being very cautious in making decisions at times like this, such as adding new routes,” he told The Vibes.
The idea to expand the airport runway was first announced by then prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in 2016.
The expansion was highly anticipated by the people here, as Sandakan’s economy took a tumble when its tourism industry hit rock bottom after the Lahad Datu incursion in 2013, followed by the Ocean King Seafood Restaurant kidnapping incident in 2015.
After the expansion project saw two groundbreakings by two governments in 2017 and 2020, it was finally completed in June last year, graced by then transport minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong.
The project cost RM80.9 million, and the runway was extended from 2,133m to 2,500m.
Tourist arrivals at Sandakan Airport were estimated to be at around 150,000 a year, before the pandemic.
Teo said that before the huge pandemic hit, the Sandakan Tourism Association had approached Scoot, a Singapore low-cost carrier, to consider direct flights between Singapore and Sandakan.
“Singapore has huge potential as it is a major transit hub for Europeans and Australians. Before the pandemic, 50% of Sandakan’s foreign tourists were from European countries and Australia, and nearly 80% of Australians transited from Singapore.
“If we have direct flights from Singapore, we can provide cheaper and more convenient options,” he said.
But the plan was stopped due to the pandemic, and now the association is waiting for airlines, especially those from Singapore and Brunei, to recover their operations before approaching them once again.
Currently, flights directly to Sandakan come from Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu.
Meanwhile, Sabah’s Kinabatangan-Corridor of Life Tourism Operators Association president Alexander Yee said that it is understandable that airlines would want to make wise business decisions by considering the population in Sandakan, which now stands at about 200,000.
“A successful flight route includes good demand for the sector as well as connectivity and flight frequency. Due to Sandakan’s low population, it is likely that with limited resources (i.e. planes), airlines will choose routes that give better yields and returns,” he said.
However, Yee said that it does not mean that the tourism sector in Sandakan is dead, as it saw annual improvement before the pandemic with only domestic flights from Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur.
“Good connectivity from KK and KL was instrumental to Sandakan doing well as a destination then. So long as these can be kept up, Sandakan stands a chance,” he said. – The Vibes, April 13, 2023
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