PUTRAJAYA, April 18 — The Transport Ministry (MOT), the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom), the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) and three airlines — Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia and Malindo — have reached a decision regarding the price of air tickets during festive seasons.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong said the decision came about during the 72-hour long meeting that began on Thursday (April 14) and would be announced soon.
“They have come to a decision and I feel relieved as they have found a solution,” he said at a media conference after launching the road safety and integrated ops campaign in conjunction with the 2022 Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations here today.
The issue of air fares to Sabah and Sarawak has become a hot topic recently with prices on airline websites reaching almost RM2,000 for a return flight to Sabah or Sarawak, a 566 per cent increase compared to the usual RM300 price for the same trip.
A screenshot that went viral showed that the price for a flight to Tawau, Sabah from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on May 2 was RM3,208.96 for economy class and RM3,617.09 for business class.
MOT secretary-general Datuk Isham Ishak was reported to have said ticket prices have dropped by over 30 per cent following Mavcom’s willingness to compromise.
Wee said his ministry was ready to cooperate with all parties to overcome the trend of rising air fares that was said to be affecting not only Malaysia but other locations as well. — Bernama
