Malaysia’s air passenger traffic increased by 72%

October 13, 2023 Malaysia Industry Updates

According to Malaysia’s Transport Minister Anthony Loke, the country’s air passenger traffic increased by 71.7% over the first nine months of this year compared to the same time last year. A total of 62.83 million people flew in airliners between January and September, with 7.17 million of them being domestic passengers and 3.85 million being foreign passengers.

Loke was upbeat, saying they anticipate air passenger volume to reach pre-COVID-19 levels in 2019 the next year. This is essential not just for Malaysia’s aviation business but also for the country’s economy in general, given the significance of foreign visitors to the country’s tourism sector as a major engine of economic expansion.

Malaysia handled more than 100 million passengers at its airports in 2019. By the end of this year, Loke hopes to have carried more than 80 million people. The National Aviation Consultative Council (NACC) seeks to bring together stakeholders from airports, airlines, and ground-handling services in order to enhance connectivity.

Despite advancements, Malaysia is behind some of its ASEAN counterparts in terms of connectivity, coming in fourth on the ASEAN airports index. Malaysia is anticipated to have 90 destinations in 2023 as opposed to 137 in 2019.

Loke also spoke about MYAirline’s predicament and suggested to its representatives that they contact Mavcom for help and regulatory talks.

The State Action Plan on Sustainable Aviation was addressed during the NACC conference, which was focused on green aviation and in line with the government’s initiatives to attain net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This effort contains a strategy to cut carbon emissions in the aviation industry and a goal of up to 47% mix of sustainable aviation fuel by 2050.

The Ministry of Transport, Mavcom, CAAM, and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad examined the viability of this policy while the meeting also considered the potential of requiring airplanes to switch off their engines and Auxiliary Power Units (APUs) while stationary at airports. For associated facilities, private sector involvement was invited.