KUCHING: The Sarawak government is mulling leasing new jet aircraft to facilitate state-owned AirBorneo’s plan to expand its services beyond Malaysia.
“We are looking into the possibility of leasing the aircraft once all the necessary approvals and licences are secured and the ground work is now underway,” according to Sarawak Transport Minister Datuk Seri Lee Kim Shim.
Sarawak has identified six destinations – South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Bangkok (Thailand), Jakarta (Indonesia) and Frankfurt (Germany) – for AirBorneo’s planned regional operation in its efforts to enhance connectivity to attract more foreign tourists to the Land of the Hornbills.
AirBorneo was renamed from MASWings after being acquired by the Sarawak government following the signing of a sale and purchase agreement with Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) last month.
Lee said AirBorneo is currently in its transition phase and will continue to operate under MASWings until all necessary approvals from both Malaysia and international aviation bodies have been obtained.
He expects the process of obtaining approval from the International Civil Aviation Organisation or ICAO and the International Air Transport Association or IATA to take at least four months due to the various strict regulations.
AirBorneo targets to be fully operational in the first quarter of 2026 after the transfer of MASWing’s ownership from MAG to the Sarawak government.
MAG has promised to work closely with all stakeholders, including shareholder Khazanah Nasional Bhd, to ensure a seamless transition and compliance with all relevant legal and regulatory frameworks.
During this transition period, MASWings will continue to operate as usual under the purview of MAG with no disruptions to flight schedules, including rural air services in Borneo.
Lee said AirBorneo will replace its ageing ATR fleet with the newer ATR 72-600 aircraft after the existing lease period expires in at least two years.
“With (MASWings’) most ATR aircraft being old, they will be replaced with new ATR 72-600 after the leasing period has expired.
“We have already started looking into new aircraft,” he added after launching a Road Safety Awareness Campaign in conjunction with the upcoming Hari Raya Aidilfitri festive season last week.
MASWings now operates eight ATR 72-500 and six DHC-6-400 Twin Otter aircraft.
The Twin Otters serve rural air service routes, flying to 11 STOLports or short take-off and landing like the highlands in northern Sarawak, which are inaccessible by road, from Miri Airport.
Lee said there is no decision yet on replacing the Twin Otters.
MASWings currently serves 22 destinations, including Brunei via a codeshare agreements with its main bases in Miri and Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
According to the manufacturer, the ATR 72-600 is the market-leading regional aircraft, offering seating up to 78 passengers and known for its fuel efficiency and low level of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
Lee said a study is being carried out on a proposal to shift MASWing’s aircraft maintenance centre in Kota Kinabalu to Miri.
On AirBorneo’s manpower requirements, he said it would absorb the more than 300 staff of MASWings as this was part of the agreement Sarawak government inked with MAG.
Meanwhile, AirBorneo is carrying out preliminary works, including the establishment of its office and recruitment of key personnel.
On the Miri Airport’s expansion project, Lee said Sarawak had submitted proposals to Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd
in a recent meeting to set up a dedicated section for rural air service, particularly for AirBorneo operations.
He expects the tender for the project to be called later this year, with construction work to commence in early 2026. The project is expected to take 36 months to complete. The project is expected to cost RM150mil.
“The proposed upgrading of the airport terminal will see the increase of the airport’s handling capacity from two million to four million passengers a year.
“This will be done by increasing the terminal floor area from 16,900 sq m to 25,000 sq m.
“The upgrade will also include six new aerobridges, bringing the total to nine, alongside an international departure lounge to accommodate future international flights.”
Lee said there is an urgent need to upgrade the passenger check-in facilities as the existing check-in counters were insufficient to meet increasing traffic as Miri is the northern gateway to Sarawak.
Lee said Miri Airport is among Malaysia’s busiest domestic airports in terms of aircraft movements, recording 42,076 aircraft movements and over 2.43 million passenger arrivals in 2019 before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
