KUALA LUMPUR – Airlines should not make use of school holidays to make profits by hiking the fare for flight tickets, said Sabah lawmaker Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis.
Isnaraissah (Kota Belud-Warisan) told the Dewan Rakyat that airlines are burdening passengers especially those from Sabah and Sarawak, citing AirAsia as an example.
“AirAsia was charging a one-way flight ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu for RM1,000 and also from Kota Kinabalu to Kuala Lumpur during the recent school holidays which just ended.
“It was not even a direct flight. It had to transit in Sibu for six hours and transit again in Singapore for several hours,” she said when debating Budget 2023 for the Transport Ministry at the committee stage.
“From my view, we (government) ought to utilise school holidays to strengthen bonds between Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia,” she added.
Isnaraissah then suggested that the Transport Ministry allow discounted flight tickets for university students using their student cards as proof of eligibility.
These discounted flight tickets can be given once or twice in a year to students from Sabah and Sarawak who study in Peninsular Malaysia, and for students from the peninsula pursuing their education in the two regions, she said.
Earlier this month, Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced that AirAsia would be offering 62 extra flights with 11,400 seats at low fares from Kuala Lumpur to seven destinations in Sabah and Sarawak for the upcoming Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations. – The Vibes, March 22, 2023
