KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 — Positive December 2020 passengers movement helped push Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd’s (MAHB) shares higher by 3.8 per cent at 11 am.

Its shares increased by 20 sen to RM5.50 with 741,000 shares changing hands.

The airport operator, yesterday, announced that the introduction of seven new local flight routes boosted domestic passenger movement by three-fold in December 2020 compared to the preceding month.

Group chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh said over one million passengers travelled domestically via Malaysia Airports’ network of 39 airports last month, providing encouraging signs of air travel recovery.

"Compared to November 2020, the average daily passenger movements in December increased by 50 per cent to about 34,500, with the highest daily domestic movements recorded at 54,000 on Dec 27,” he said.

Mohd Shukrie said AirAsia and Firefly made a strategic decision to provide new domestic routes in response to Covid-19 market demand. — Bernama