By Nur Ashikin Louis
KUCHING, Dec 4: The new Mukah Airport will further intensify flight services for Mukah routes with more passenger capacity, thus increasing economic opportunities impacting the local community.
Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said for Mukah routes, MASwings provides four flight services using twin otter aircraft based on the Public Service Obligation for Rural Air Services Agreement (PSO for RAS) which was signed on Jan 4, 2019, between the Malaysian government and MASwings to continue providing RAS service until 2024.
“They are Kuching-Mukah route with a frequency of 28 flights a week, Miri-Mukah with a frequency of seven flights a week, Sibu-Mukah with a frequency of three flights a week, and Bintulu-Mukah with a frequency of two flights a week.
“To improve the RAS service by MASwings, the government through the Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) will implement RAS rationalisation by reviewing RAS objectives, financial implications involved, RAS flight routes and frequencies, fares, aircraft, and mechanism on subsidies awarded to users of these services from time to time,” he said when officiating the new Mukah Airport in Mukah today.
At the same time, Ismail said the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) under the Ministry of Transport had been tasked with ensuring the ability of the Air Traffic Management System to keep pace with the modernisation and increasing flow of aircraft traffic.
Under the 12th Malaysia Plan, the government has approved a project to upgrade the Air Traffic Management System with a total project value of RM19.4 million.
He also said the Kuala Lumpur air management space modernisation project was successfully completed with the launch of the Kuala Lumpur Air Traffic Control Center (KL ATCC) Complex on Dec 1, 2021, while the equipment modernisation project in the Kota Kinabalu airspace covering Sabah and Sarawak is scheduled for completion on Dec 10, 2021. ― DayakDaily
