Dr Wee: Airfares to Sabah, Sarawak fall after proactive measures

PUTRAJAYA: Prices for airfares to Sabah and Sarawak for the festive season have reduced following proactive measures taken by aviation authorities and airlines, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.

The Transport Minister said based on observations by the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) on April 16, one-way fare for economy class for Hari Raya Aidilfitri from April 27 to May 8 - considered as monitoring period - is between RM105 and RM1,398.

For flights between April 29 and May 1, which is considered a peak period, the one-way ticket is between RM195 and RM1,398.

“From this price range, the majority of airfare for all routes to Sabah and Sarawak one way on economy class during the monitoring period is only between RM300 and RM500,” he said in a statement on Monday (April 18).

Dr Wee explained the situation was different before and on April 14 where the price range was between RM105 and RM2,084 during the “monitoring period”.

He said during the peak period, the one-way fare for an economy seat was between RM195 and RM2,084,” he said in a statement on Monday (April 18).

The price range for the majority of ticket prices are between RM700 and RM1,200 for a one-day economy ticket, he added.

“This is good news for those who want to return to Sabah and Sarawak as airfares have reduced significantly.

“I would like to congratulate Mavcom, the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) and the domestic airlines for their cooperation to achieve this agreement,” he added.

Dr Wee explained that an analysis was made on claims that airline ticket prices were more than RM3,000 for a one-way economy seat was actually a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu, with one transit made to Kuching, Sarawak.

“I would like to urge consumers to plan their travel and purchase their airline tickets early to benefit from fares that can possibly be lower,” he said.

Earlier, at the launching of the road safety campaign and Ops Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Dr Wee told reporters that a solution had been found for the issue of high airfares.

This came after 72 hours of discussion between his ministry, Mavcom, CAAM, Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia and Malindo Air.