He said this was an increase from 115 weekly flights approved for June.

However, he reminded the relevant agencies such as the airport operators and airline operators that they must strictly adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOP) on passengers at the terminal and while inside the aircraft.

“These include the screening of body temperature before entering the airport terminal, requirement of face mask usage by the crews and passengers, and the use of hand sanitizers,” Lee said in a statement.

He also reminded the passengers that they also must comply with SOPs including the requirement to download the MySejahtera apps and fill in the Health Declaration Form through an e-Health declaration at http://sdmc.sarawak.gov.my.

“They are also advised to download the COVIDTrace Sarawak apps and Qmunity apps,” he said, adding that they will be taken a random PCR sample on arrival at the main entrance.

Lee said SDMC has allowed flights from Peninsular Malaysia to have full capacities.

“The decision of SDMC to approve and increase the frequency of flights between Peninsular Malaysia to Sarawak and vice versa was made after taking into consideration various factors such as the improvement of Covid-19 situation in the state, the need to stimulate domestic economic growth especially the tourism sector and to facilitate the movement of goods and people for business, official and personal reasons.

“Prior to this, the flying frequency allowed by SDMC for both flights from Sarawak to Peninsular Malaysia and vice versa during the movement control order (MCO) enforced in March was only one time weekly from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching and Miri for Malaysia Airlines Berhad, and none from other airlines,” he said.

He added that other airlines such as AirAsia and Malindo started to follow suit and started to operate between Kuala Lumpur and Kuching.

On behalf of the state government, Lee thanked all the airline operators, Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, Scoot, Malindo Air and Maswings for taking prompt action in increasing the flight frequency to and from Sarawak.

“We are very confident that with all these initiatives, it will help to accelerate the recovery of Sarawak domestic economic activities and curb the spreading of Covid-19 in the state,” he said.