KUCHING, April 13: Minister for Transport Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin has been made to understand that airlines will be running special, limited-time promotions soon for Hari Raya Adilfitri to cater to increasing demand for flights between West Malaysia and Sarawak.
He advised Sarawakians to take advantage of the airlines’ limited-time Hari Raya Aidilfitri promotions which will be available soon to meet rising demand for flights between Semenanjung Malaysia and Sarawak.
According to a press release, Lee stated that with the increase in flight frequency to the State, airlines are expected to offer reasonable flight fares to passengers, especially in view of major celebrations in Sarawak namely Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Gawai Dayak.
“Many Sarawakians working in West Malaysia are expected to return home to Sarawak to meet their family members for the celebrations.
“For this reason, the Ministry of Transport Sarawak (MOTS) has written to the airlines requesting them to offer more reasonable flight fares especially during the coming festive period.
“We trust that this will also help to lighten the financial burden faced by the public since the first Movement Control Order (MCO) was imposed in 2020 to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the country,” he said.
He urged the public to plan ahead their journey for the coming celebrations and purchase their flight tickets in advance rather than buying at the last minute.
“This is because most of the airlines are using the Dynamic Pricing mechanism in their revenue management where prices will respond to demand as informed by the Malaysia Aviation Commission (Mavcom),” he explained.
Lee added that he believes airlines will reciprocate the decision made by the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) in approving more flights into Sarawak, and that airlines would play their pivotal role in facilitating the movement of people and goods at reasonable rates, as well as support the government initiatives to accelerate the revitalisation of the economy.
Meanwhile, he also disclosed in the press release that the State government, through SDMC, has approved 619 weekly flights into Sarawak, including international flights from Singapore and Brunei.
“The main objective is to provide more flights to facilitate the seamless movement of people and cargo, especially with our borders opening on April 1st, 2022.
“This initiative is also critical in re-energising the State’s economic growth, particularly in the tourism sector,” he said. — DayakDaily
