By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Aug 25: More than 4,000 international flights scheduled to Malaysia were cancelled in the first half of 2026 due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, disrupting air connectivity and contributing to slower growth in international visitor arrivals.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Dato Sri Tiong King Sing said the geopolitical tensions, which began affecting aviation networks from February, resulted in 4,111 flight cancellations involving services to Malaysia.
“Although airlines later introduced 683 replacement and new flights, the country still recorded a net loss of 3,428 international flights compared to the original schedule.
“The impact of the Middle East conflict on aviation operations is evident. Since February, the number of scheduled flight cancellations has continued to increase month by month,” he said in a statement posted on his social media today, accompanying the ministry’s first-half 2026 tourism performance report.
According to Tiong, Malaysia received 88,058 international flights between January and June this year, 3.7 per cent lower than the 91,486 flights originally scheduled.
Flight cancellations escalated rapidly after the conflict began, rising from just nine cancellations in February to more than 300 in March, nearly 1,000 in April and reaching 1,419 cancelled international flights in June alone.
The disruptions also affected airline capacity. While carriers had initially planned to offer 18.34 million seats during the first six months of 2026, actual seat capacity stood at approximately 17.63 million seats after taking into account flight cancellations, aircraft changes and operational adjustments.
“Despite the shortfall against projections, seat capacity remained six per cent higher than the 16.63 million seats available during the corresponding period last year, representing an increase of more than one million seats,” he said.
However, he noted that the growth rate was slower than in previous years, with flight disruptions and reduced connectivity from affected regions weighing on tourism performance.
The sharpest decline was recorded on routes linked to the Middle East. Seat capacity from the region fell from more than one million seats in the first half of 2025 to 806,532 seats this year. Capacity on Europe-bound services using Middle Eastern hubs as transit points also dropped by more than 20 per cent compared with the same period last year.
“Nevertheless, Malaysia’s international aviation network continued to expand. Between January and July, 23 new international routes, 12 new airline services and nine charter flight operations were introduced, bringing the total number of new air services launched this year to 44,” he said.
Tiong revealed that Northeast Asia recorded the strongest growth in seat capacity, with an additional 500,000 seats, an increase of 11.9 per cent compared to the same period last year. ASEAN markets registered the second-highest increase, adding 376,423 seats or 4.5 per cent.
The ministry would continue strengthening efforts in high-growth markets, particularly in Asia, while working closely with airlines and industry stakeholders to enhance connectivity and sustain tourism growth despite ongoing global uncertainties. — DayakDaily
