By Marlynda Meraw
KUCHING, Nov 18: The Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) has approved AirAsia to operate flight routes from Kuching to Ipoh, Balikpapan (Indonesia), and Kunming (China).
However, according to the Sarawak Minister of Transport (MOTS) Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin, the tentative date of operation will only be finalised once the airline receives further approval from the authorities of destination countries for the flights heading to Balikpapan and Kunming.
“The commencement date for operations (Kuching-Ipoh flight route) has yet to be determined by the airline (AirAsia),” said Lee during his winding-up speech at the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUS) sitting today.
In 2024, Sarawak received an average of 406 flights weekly compared to 373 weekly flights last year. The existing routes are served by Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, Batik Air, Firefly, and MASWings.
Kuching International Airport (KIA) received the most flight frequencies with 211 flights weekly, followed by Miri Airport with 86 flights, Sibu Airport with 60 flights, Bintulu with 37 flights, Mulu with seven flights, Limbang with three, and Lawas with two weekly flights.
As of November this year, there are 37 international weekly flights to Sarawak compared to the first quarter of 2024, which recorded 33 weekly flights.
“This (increase in international weekly flights) is due to Scoot flight expansion in June 2024 from Singapore to Sibu and Miri with an average of three and four weekly flights, respectively,” said Lee. — DayakDaily
