Mohd Faizal Malik
KOTA KINABALU: Air travel to Sabah and Sarawak during festive holiday should be accessible to all, not just the rich, more so when Sabah and Sarawak are considered among the poorest states in Malaysia.
Senior Aviation Consultant Mohd Faizal Malik said the excessive profiteering by increasing airfare during peak festive season thus earning operators supernormal profit places a heavy financial burden for passengers from Sabah and Sarawak, and such practice should be curbed by the Government.
“The Government need to implement regulations to control the pricing mechanism to ensure affordable airfare at all times by setting a ceiling price on airfares especially essential domestic routes such as to Sabah and Sarawak. We hope the regulations can be implemented the soonest in view of the upcoming Kaamatan Festival celebration in May,” he said.
A screenshot of a group air ticket price check done before Ramadan month for a family of four on a full service airline from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu, travelling date 21 April 2023 shows the total amount of MYR 9,763.12.
Faizal also urged the State Government through the state owned subsidiary Sabah Air Aviation Sendirian Berhad (SAASB) to start planning on establishing its own airline to ensure a stable and affordable air travel as a mean to stop the exploitation of domestic airline operators.
“The growth of domestic airlines has been fueled by the travel demands of passengers from the Borneo states throughout the years and the previous Sabah state government have given millions in loan to support one of the domestic airlines when it was struggling during the pandemic, yet all of these operators have zero regards to the economic burden placed on its loyal passengers,” he said.
A screenshot of a group air ticket price check done before Ramadan month for a family of four on a budget airline from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu, travelling date 21 April 2023 shows the total amount of MYR 4,072.
“As such, we will welcome and support the present State Government decision through Sabah Air if it chooses to embark on establishing Sabah own airline similar to the Sarawak Government’s decision as a way to stabilise and ensure affordable air travel to the state,” he said on the recent statement by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim giving an approval in principle on the establishment of Sarawak boutique airline.
