MIRI, Nov 2: Singapore’s Scoot Tigerair Pte Ltd (Scoot) will operate Singapore-Miri twice-weekly direct flights beginning mid of January 2022 after obtaining approval from the Transport Ministry.
Sarawak Transport Minister Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin in a statement today said the ministry had received green light from the Federal Transport Ministry and Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) on Scoot’s application to fly two times weekly between Singapore and Miri.
“Currently, Scoot is operating their flight from Singapore to Kuching three times weekly, and it is very timely for the airline to operate to other major city and towns in Sarawak,” said Lee.
The Senadin assemblyman pointed out that the number of visitors from Singapore to the State has increased from 38,743 in 2010 to 46,812 visitors in 2019.
However, due to the adverse impact of Covid-19 pandemic, the number of visitors from Singapore has gone down to 7,363 in 2020.
The ministry believed that the number of visitors from Singapore into Sarawak will gradually return to normal once the Covid-19 pandemic situation is greatly improved with the State fully vaccinated adult rate more than 91 per cent.
“Besides, Shell Malaysia (Shell) will be moving its upstream activities headquarters to Miri, Sarawak.
“They will house Shell total staff of 2,000 across Malaysia to Miri which shows the confidence of the company with Sarawak as the preferred investment destination in Malaysia especially in the oil and gas sector.
“Therefore, with Scoot flight connecting Singapore and Miri, any Shell personnel from overseas that need to be in Miri will be able to fly direct via Singapore or Kuala Lumpur,” he said.
The Sarawak government, Lee said, welcomed Scoot’s proposal to fly direct between Singapore and Miri as Miri city has been established as the northern gateway to Sarawak and one of the most popular tourism destinations in the State, in addition to the fact that Miri is also the second largest city in Sarawak behind Kuching, with a population of more than 356,000 people. — DayakDaily
