[UPDATED] Transport Ministry approves 527 additional flights ahead of festive season

KUALA LUMPUR – Some 527 additional flights, involving six carriers, have been approved by the Transport Ministry ahead of the festive season.

This move, the ministry said, by the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) is to meet the high demand for flights from the peninsula to East Malaysia.

Malaysia Airlines will have 184 additional flights, Batik Air 173, AirAsia 130, Firefly 18, MASwings 12 and MYAirline 10.

Of which, 118 flights are to Kota Kinabalu, 70 to Tawau and 32 to Sandakan in Sabah while 102 are to Kuching, 34 to Sibu, 20 to Miri and 14 to Bintulu in Sarawak.

The ministry said the additional flights will help to ensure that airfares remain reasonable.

“The fixed fare tickets sold out quickly. In fact, regular fare tickets also sold fast, which led to an increase in price of the remaining tickets.”

It added that Mavcom intervened after the seats offered by low-cost airlines were insufficient, which led to discussions with Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAB).

This resulted in MAB increasing the capacity of 40 flights with the Airbus A330 from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu.

“Previously, the increase in capacity has helped lower fares.”

Earlier, there were 5,617 flights scheduled to operate within Peninsular Malaysia, 2,149 flights between the peninsula and Sarawak, as well as 2,033 between the peninsula and Sabah. – The Vibes, April 8, 2023