By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, May 1: Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture Dato Sri Tiong King Sing has urged Lion Air Group—Indonesia’s largest private airline holding company and a major low-cost carrier in Southeast Asia—to increase the stability of flight frequencies to Sibu and Bintulu.
In a Facebook post, Tiong, who is also Bintulu MP and Dudong assemblyman, proposed that at least one daily flight be maintained and gradually increased to meet business and industrial needs.
“Bintulu, in particular, as a hub for heavy industrial development involving many foreign technical personnel and active industrial supply chains, requires more structured and consistent flight schedules aligned with real market demand,” he said following a meeting with the team from Lion Air Group, together with Batik Air, Lion Air, and other airlines under its umbrella.
He also expressed hope that they would consider prioritising the deployment of some wide-body aircraft to the Malaysian market, particularly those capable of long-haul flights, to support more direct and transit routes.
“I explained that there is existing demand for certain routes to the Middle East and Europe, but it has yet to be fully tapped due to fleet capacity constraints. Many passengers are still required to transit via Singapore or Thailand—an area where Malaysia can further improve,” he said.
At the same time, he said that for the Indonesian market, Batik Air is actively developing several new destinations with direct routes to Kuala Lumpur, including Makassar, Balikpapan, Semarang, and Pontianak, with plans to launch them in the near future.
Tiong added that they are also planning to organise tourism sales exhibitions in major cities such as Jakarta, Medan, Surabaya, and Denpasar, promoting ticket and hotel packages to encourage Indonesian tourists to visit Malaysia, with an initial target of around 4,000 visitors.
“In terms of route expansion, Batik Air also mentioned a list of potential new destinations under study, including several major Indonesian cities such as Palembang, Banda Aceh, Pontianak, Padang, Banjarmasin, Makassar, and Balikpapan, as well as the Penang–Batam route.
“However, they clarified that all these routes are still in the planning and evaluation stage, and flight schedules and launch dates have yet to be finalised, subject to further assessment based on market conditions, capacity allocation, and regulatory approvals.
“Nevertheless, this list of potential destinations reflects the broader direction of expansion in the Indonesian market and signals the airline’s intention to strengthen connectivity between secondary and tertiary cities in Malaysia and Indonesia, opening up more opportunities for tourism growth in the future,” he said.
He also emphasised that the government will continue to promote the development of flight routes and tourism cooperation, while supporting airlines in exploring new markets through appropriate mechanisms, alongside strengthening collaboration with all aviation players to enhance regional air connectivity. — DayakDaily
