KOTA KINABALU – When AirAsia flight AK1794 touched down at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) today, one of the passengers on board could no longer control her emotions as tears of joy began streaming down her face.
For 35-year-old Huziah Siwis, this was the first time she has been home after staying three long years in Singapore during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw Malaysian borders close followed by a stringent reopening policy where the cost to return home was astronomically high.
Her situation, where she could not afford to leave the island nation to visit her family at that time, is a yet another consequence of the virus, where less fortunate Malaysians working abroad could not afford to come home due to the costs of quarantine and Covid-19 testing.
Hailing from Kg Entilibon, Tongod, some 208km from Kota Kinabalu, the kitchen helper took the first flight home today from Singapore to finally meet her husband and her family for the first time since 2019.
“I am very, very happy. Now they have relaxed (the international entries) and only now I was able to come home and meet my family.
“I am truly grateful that now I am able to meet them,” said Siwis as she broke down in tears.
Speaking to reporters, she said that her sister and her husband will be picking her up at the airport.
For the next couple of days, she will be staying at her sister’s house before heading to her hometown in Tongod.
Siwis is one of the 80 plus non-Singaporean arrivals today from KKIA’s first international flight since the reopening of the borders on April 1.
Some 119 passengers, including two infants, arrived at the KKIA arrival hall around 2.30pm, and 30% of them are Singaporeans.
Frenchman Jacques Franck, who also arrived with Siwis on the same flight, said this was his return trip to Sabah.
“I have been to the islands and mountains. I’m just making a return visit. I am used to Sabah. It’s a nice place. The people are very nice,” said Jacques, who is on a short holiday from work in Singapore.
Meanwhile, Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin said Singapore is an important country as it connects the state to other markets globally.
At the same time, AirAsia chief commercial officer Tan Mai Yin said the airline remains committed to bringing in more travellers to Sabah.
Tan stated that the airline is currently operating thrice-weekly flights between Singapore and Kota Kinabalu, with daily flights beginning on April 29.
“We are also reviewing direct flights from Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia to Kota Kinabalu. We are excited about this and we will announce a further update,” she said.
Tan added that they expected the direct flight from Thailand and the Philippines to begin in the first half of this year, with the rest following in the second half.
In 2019, before Malaysia implemented its lockdown, Sabah had received 126,000 passengers entering through Singapore, where Singaporeans accounted for 34,000 out of the total number.
Addressing complaints that flight ticket prices have hit the stratosphere as Hari Raya Aidilfitri looms ever closer, the airline official said the increase in airfares are normal under the current dynamic pricing mechanism.
“It is very normal when it comes to dynamic pricing where we encouraged passengers to book their flights early, as well as all travellers.
“But looking at our fares between April and May, 50% of the return flights from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu or Kuching are still affordable and competitive,” she said.
The Transport Ministry has asked the Malaysian Aviation Commission and airline companies to immediately investigate the increase in airfares during the festive season.
A quick check on return flight airfares between Kuala Lumpur and other Sabah airports like Sandakan and Tawau revealed that they remain high.
For instance, AirAsia is charging RM1,151 for a return trip for a Kuala Lumpur-Sandakan flight on April 18. – The Vibes, April 16, 2022
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