Regional airline responds to Loke's call for more flights during holiday season

PETALING JAYA: South-East Asian airline Batik Air will be providing extra flights from Peninsular Malaysia to Sabah and Sarawak to meet high demand for the upcoming holiday season.

The airline said it had added an extra 21 daily flights from Dec 22 to Jan 3 from KLIA to Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.

Batik Air chief executive officer Capt Mushafiz Mustafa Bakri said in a statement on Tuesday (Dec 13) this was in response to Transport Minister Anthony Loke's recent request to airlines to increase flight frequency during festive seasons so that airfares remained affordable.

Mushafiz added that the airline would also be looking to increase flights for the same routes during the Chinese New Year season in anticipation of greater demand.

“We urge travellers to plan early and take advantage of the extra flights which are available for reservation now," he said.

Loke had also said that the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) would look into extending operating hours for airports and air traffic control towers before major long holidays as well as the week after celebrations to support the increase in flights.