Borneo aviation agency mooted

KOTA KINABALU: A Bornean Civil Aviation Authority (BCCA) should be set up for Sabah and Sarawak to resolve “expensive and unreasonable” airfares faced by travellers to the two states, says Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan (pic).

“The time has come for the establishment of a BCAA to look into the aviation industry in Sabah and Sarawak and regulate it.

“I believe that the BCAA can better look after the interests of Sabah, Sarawak and Malaysians travelling to and from Borneo states,” he said, in reference to the much talked about high prices of domestic airfares during the Hari Raya and school holidays.

In a statement, Kitingan said the BCAA would be better focused to regulate and look after the best interests of the aviation industry in the Bornean states.

“There are talented and qualified Sabahans, including those who were educated, trained and certified by American aviation institutions, to staff the BCAA,” he said.

They could focus on the interests of the people including having better control over air fares, he added.

With better knowledge of the local situations and the understanding of the needs of Sabah and Sarawak, Kitingan believed that the BCAA could create a much needed impetus to alleviate the airline industry to greater heights.

In the longer term, he said the BCAA could benefit not only Sabah but the national aviation industry as a whole.

Kitingan stressed on the importance of air travel, since international tourism is a key economic sector of Sabah and Sarawak.

“In fact, the Kota Kinabalu International Airport is the second biggest and second busiest airport in Malaysia and the regional hub for many airlines with direct international flights,” he added.

He said the BCAA would also complement Sarawak’s plans to set up a boutique airline while Sabah Air was in discussions to venture into the air cargo sector with an established logistics group.

“This will turn Sabah Air into a regional airline for the BIMP-EAGA (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines-East Asean Growth Area region),” he added.Kitingan said he would be proposing the BCCA at the MA63 Federal Cabinet Committee meeting.

He said that the on-going debate about high air fares to Sabah and Sarawak during the Hari Raya season had also exposed “the decades-old systemic problem of neglect of the interests and welfare of Sabahans and Sarawakians on air travel and the burden borne by them for years”.

It has been reported that the Transport Ministry is examining the mechanisms to resolve problems related to costly air ticket prices prior to holiday seasons, especially for return tickets to Sabah and Sarawak.