THE Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) has greenlighted new flight routes to and from Kuching, which will be operated by AirAsia Berhad.
According to the Minister of Transportation, Datuk Seri Lee Kim Shin (GPS-Senadin), the airline still needs to determine the commencement date for the new flight routes.
“MAVCOM has recently approved a new domestic flight route between Kuching and Ipoh, Perak, as well as flight routes between Kuching and Balikpapan in Kalimantan, Indonesia, and Kuching and Kunming in China.
“However, for the international flights, the operation date will only be finalised once the airline receives further approval from the authorities of the destination countries,” he said.
Furthermore, Lee said 95,441 aircraft movements carried 7.56 million passengers to all airports and STOLPorts in Sarawak until the third quarter of 2024, while 42,381 tonnes of air cargo were transported to various destinations across Sarawak, including electrical and electronic goods, oil and gas equipment, e-commerce items, general cargo such as fabrics and clothing, and perishable goods like fruits and fresh flowers.
Lee added that, on average, 406 flights weekly from other states and federal territories, 608 domestic flights within Sarawak, and 37 international flights are scheduled within Sarawak.
“Sarawak received an average of 406 flights weekly from other states, compared to 373 flights weekly last year. Kuching International Airport received the most flight frequencies, with 211 flights, followed by Miri Airport with 86 flights, Sibu Airport with 60 flights, Bintulu Airport with 37 flights, Mulu with seven flights, Limbang with three flights, and Lawas with two flights weekly.
“Within Sarawak, Miri Airport handled the highest number, with 179 flights weekly, followed by Kuching with 136 flights, Sibu with 62 flights, and Bintulu with 40 flights per week, while the remainder were to the smaller airports and STOLports.
“As of November 2024, weekly international flights to Sarawak have increased to 37, up from 33 in the first quarter, thanks to Scoot’s June 2024 expansion of flights from Singapore to Sibu and Miri,” he said.
