KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia Aviation Group Berhad (MAG) has introduced mandatory annual drug screenings for all pilots and cabin crew, shifting from its previous one-off testing policy after a recent incident in Jakarta.
MAG president and group chief executive officer Capt Nasaruddin A Bakar confirmed the move, adding that weekly random testing is also being conducted across the airline's pilot community.
"We did a one-off screening, but now it's a mandatory once-a-year procedure for all pilots and cabin crew.
"We also do random testing every week for our pilot community, and the results have been negative,” he told a press conference here on Friday (Sept 4).
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To date, 98.8% of the group’s cabin crew have completed drug screenings with zero positive cases.
Nasaruddin added that the remaining employees are scheduled to undergo testing today.
The mass screening drive comes after all 1,260 operationally active Malaysia Airlines pilots tested negative in mid-August.
The widespread testing initiative was triggered by the late-July arrest of an off-duty second officer at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Earlier, Nasaruddin announced MAG’s network expansion plans, including Malaysia Airlines’ resumption of flights to Busan, South Korea, in December, alongside regional carrier Firefly’s recent addition of Kunming, China, to its network.
Looking ahead to the upcoming tabling of Budget 2027, Nasaruddin said MAG is engaging with the Federal Government to explore relief measures such as adjustments to airport-related fees to help ease broader cost pressures.
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He said the recent rapid surge in fuel costs has put significant pressure on MAG's bottom line, highlighting the extreme market volatility.
He added that jet fuel prices recently reached a peak of US$230 per barrel before settling at around US$160 per barrel.
“The fuel price shock hits a lot of industries in the world (not only airlines), so we need to manage our network very carefully.
“The government has been very supportive of us and all the airlines in the country. We hope that with this support, we'll be able to manage our network properly.”
Earlier, Nasaruddin said that while the aviation environment remains challenging, MAG continues to take a considered approach to growing its network.
“This year, we welcomed back Chengdu and Fukuoka, while opening new connections to Shenzhen and Changsha. And today, we are building on that momentum.
“For Malaysia Airlines, this marks another important step in strengthening our East Asia footprint. By reconnecting Kuala Lumpur with this key market, we are enhancing our regional network and providing customers with greater flexibility, choice, and convenience when travelling across Asia,” he said.
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For Firefly, he said, MAG is extending its reach into China, marking the airline's first route into the country.
“This will open a new connection to an important regional centre, while complementing Malaysia Airlines’ network in China, which now serves nine key hubs.”
Nasaruddin also announced the establishment of MAG Culinary Solutions (MAGCS), which was incorporated as a subsidiary of MAG in September last year.
“MAGCS brings together the group’s food and beverage capabilities under one roof, giving us direct oversight over quality, consistency and innovation.
“Since insourcing catering operations in 2023, customer satisfaction for F&B has improved from 72% (in 2023) to 78% (in 2026), while catering on-time performance now consistently remained at 99.9%.
“The next chapter for MAGCS is the development of a new state-of-the-art in-flight catering facility. Groundworks began in July this year, with completion targeted for Q4 2028 and operations expected to begin in Q2 2029.
“Once operational, the facility is expected to produce approximately 50,000 meals a day – almost doubling our current handling capacity – while creating new employment opportunities,” he added.
