KUCHING, Sept 29: Sarawak Transport Ministry aims to lower airfares by gradually increasing flights from 22 to 87 per week following the approval of 100 per cent passenger load capacity for all flights.
Its Minister Datuk Lee Kim Shin said the proposal to increase the flight frequency gradually by the ministry was done upon the advice of Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg and the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC).
The factors that prompted the ministry to increase the number of flights were the need of flights entering the State, high airfares which can reach up to RM1,500 one-way, requests from the tourism sector, the demand for travelling from the public and medical expert advice of SDMC.
Lee said the increase of flights is also critical with the reopening of schools, colleges and universities in October, where there will be a lot of student travelling from Sarawak to Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Kota Kinabalu and vice-versa.
“It is expected that the increase in the number of flights will have little effect on the number of quarantine rooms needed for quarantine purposes because we expect the passengers travelling and coming to the State to be fully vaccinated,” said Lee in a statement today.
This, he said, was based on the current percentage of the fully vaccinated adult population in Malaysia which has reached 84.4 per cent.
While in Sarawak, the percentage of fully vaccinated adults has reached 89.4 per cent as of Sept 27. (Source: vaksincovid.gov.my)
He said the new SOPs (standard operating procedure) issued by SDMC was that those who have completed two doses of vaccination or completed their full vaccination will no longer be quarantined.
However, those passengers who are not fully vaccinated and those from overseas will be quarantined for 10 days at the assigned hotel or quarantine centres.
“We believe that with this high frequency of flights approved by SDMC, the public will appreciate the State government’s actions, especially on the flight availability and most importantly a reasonable and affordable air fare,” said Lee.
These decisions were made in a meeting held between the Ministry of Transport Malaysia and Malaysia Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) yesterday to discuss and coordinate on the new flight frequency schedule to Sarawak starting Oct 1.
It was attended by Deputy Minister for Transport Malaysia (MOT) Datuk Henry Sum Agong, Deputy State Secretary and Deputy Chairman of SDMC Datu Ik Pahon, Chairman of Malaysia Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) Datuk Seri Saripuddin Kassim, Sarawak Transport Ministry permanent secretary Datu Buckland Bangik, Aviation Division Secretary of MOT Mohammad Radzuan Mazlan and representatives from State Resident Offices, Malaysia Civil Defence Force (APM), Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) and Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad (MAHB).
It was also resolved that MAVCOM will look into the details of the flight frequency schedule as it involves other technical requirements such as manpower, aircraft mobilisation and flight connectivity.
The meeting decided that the increase of the flights will be gradual. It will begin with increasing the present passenger load capacity, following SDMC approval to allow 100 per cent passenger load instead of 60 per cent with effect from Oct 1.
Despite the reopening and the increase in flight frequency to Sarawak, the ministry reminded all passengers and travellers to comply strictly to the SOP set by National Security Council (MKN), Ministry of Health Malaysia (KKM) and SDMC including enter-Sarawak procedures to curb the spread of Covid-19. — DayakDaily
