Lee (centre) when participating in the meeting from his ministry’s office. At right is Buckland.
KUCHING (Sept 30): State Transport Minister Datuk Lee Kim Shin expressed hope that air fares to and from Sarawak will be lowered following the approval of 100 per cent passenger load capacity for all flights, which will be gradually increased starting Oct 1.
He revealed that a meeting was held with Ministry of Transport Malaysia and Malaysia Aviation Commission (Mavcom) on Tuesday to discuss and coordinate on the new flight frequency schedule to Sarawak.
He said the meeting decided that the increase in the number of flights will be gradual, which can begin with increasing the present passenger load capacity, following Sarawak Disaster Management Committee’s (SDMC) approval to allow 100 per cent passenger load instead of 60 per cent with effect from Oct 1.
“This will be followed by gradual increase in the number of weekly flights, subject to the maximum number as approved by SDMC.
“It is hoped that with the approval of 100 per cent passenger load capacity for all the flights and the gradual increase in number of weekly flights approved from 22 to 87, the airlines will be able to lower their air fares,” he said in a statement yesterday.
He explained the proposal to gradually increase the flight frequency was upon the advice of Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg and SDMC.
“This includes other various factors such as the availability of flights coming to the state, the high air fare which can reach up to RM1,500 one-way, the request from tourism sector, the demand for travelling from the public, and the medical expert advice in SDMC.
“This new flight frequency and scheduling is also critical with the reopening of schools, colleges and universities starting this October 2021. There will be a lot of student movements from Sarawak to Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Kota Kinabalu and vice-versa,” he said.
Lee also said the outcome of the meeting was for Mavcom to look into the details of the Flight Frequency Schedule as it involves other technical requirements such as manpower, aircraft mobilisation and flight connectivity.
“The meeting also requested Mavcom to take into account to have 90 minutes’ interval between the flights from outside Sarawak in order not to cause congestion at the airports, so as to give sufficient time for health and immigration clearance,” he added.
He also pointed to the new standard operating procedure (SOP) issued by SDMC on enter-Sarawak procedures where passengers who have completed two doses of vaccination or completed their full vaccination will no longer be quarantined.
However, passengers who are not fully vaccinated and those from overseas will be quarantined for 10 days at the assigned hotel or quarantine centre.
“It is expected that the increase in the number of flights will have little effect on the number of quarantine rooms needed for quarantine purposes because we expect the passengers travelling and coming to the state will be fully vaccinated.
“This is based on the current percentage of fully vaccinated adult population in Malaysia which has reached 84.4 per cent. While in Sarawak, the percentage of fully vaccinated adult has reached 89.4 per cent as of Sept 27,” he said.
He also believed that with this high frequency of flights approved by SDMC, the public will appreciate the state government’s actions in increasing flight availability and most importantly ensure a reasonable and affordable air fare.
“Despite the reopening and the increase in flight frequency to Sarawak, we would like to remind all passengers and travellers to comply strictly with the SOP set by National Security Council (MKN), Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH) and SDMC including enter-Sarawak procedures to curb the spread of Covid-19 in Sarawak,” he said.
The meeting held virtually was also attended by the federal Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Henry Sum Agong, Deputy State Secretary and SDMC deputy chairman Datu Ik Pahon Joyik, Mavcom chairman Datuk Seri Saripuddin Kassim, state Transport Ministry permanent secretary Datu Buckland Bangik, federal Ministry of Transport Aviation Division secretary Mohammad Radzuan Mazlan and representatives from Sarawak’s Resident’s Offices, Malaysia Civil Defence Force (APM), Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB).
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