Bangkuai: Plane to Busan takes off from KK next week

PENAMPANG: Kota Kinabalu will see another international direct route introduced next week by a South Korean airline, as flights to Busan will begin next Wednesday (July 13).

The Kota Kinabalu-Busan route will be operated by Air Busan, said Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Joniston Bangkuai (pic).

He said this to reporters during the launch of the two-day Matta Fair Sabah at a mall here on Saturday (July 9).

"Air Busan has already started plying the Kota Kinabalu-Incheon(Seoul) route, and in a few days they are expected to kickstart this new route to Busan," said Bangkuai.

The Sabah Tourism Board (STB) chairman said that there will be more direct international routes once things are finalised.

"STB is continuously discussing this with carriers including Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia and international airlines to start coming into Sabah," said Bangkuai.

Meanwhile, Bangkuai, when launching the event, also highlighted the complaints he received about the disappointing state of cleanliness of public toilets in Sabah airports.

"It is embarrassing to hear such complaints coming not only from tourists, but also tourism captains of industries, particularly when comparing our airport restrooms with other airports," he said.

"Certainly, this will paint a negative image to our tourism industry and as service providers, we need to aggressively improve on this area," added Bangkuai.

Talking to reporters later, he said the cleanliness of amenities has been brought up during the recent STB board of directors meeting and the matter has been conveyed to the authorities concerned.

"I believe the airport authorities are doing their best, but I think it's about time they really buck up and take necessary action because the public are watching," he said, adding that airport areas should also be well lit to provide a good experience for visitors.

On how Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin's concern of another Covid-19 spike with Omicron new variant emerging will affect tourism plans, Bangkuai said it was important that the public continue to comply strictly with the standard operating procedures.

"It is important for us to be mindful not to take things for granted and stay vigilant, even though we are moving to an endemic phase.

"We all have our part, including the public, to make sure we can contain the spread of this Covid-19 with the new variant said to be very infectious," he stressed.