Hasbi: Malaysia Airlines reduces seats to Sabah, Sarawak, Labuan from August to December

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 28): Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) has reduced 95,906 seats for flights to Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan from August to December this year, Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Hasbi Habibollah said.

However, Hasbi said AirAsia, AirAsia X and Batik Air have collectively increased their capacity by 139,578 seats to help offset this reduction.

For October alone, Hasbi said Malaysian airline companies are providing a total of 1.42 million seats for domestic flights to Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.

“Passengers affected by temporary flight cancellations from August to December have already been informed, and the notification process is largely complete.

“MAB is now operating as usual, cancelling flights only when ‘force majeure’ circumstances arise, such as safety issues due to adverse weather conditions or advisories from local and international aviation authorities,” he said during the question and answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He was responding to a question from Mohamad Shafizan Kepli (GPS-Batang Lupar) on the impact of Malaysia Airlines’ flight reductions, alternative measures provided and actions taken to ensure ticket prices remain reasonable, especially for residents of Sabah and Sarawak.

Hasbi said the cancellations were primarily due to commercial factors such as low passenger loads, airline operational challenges (including crew shortages and late arrivals), aircraft rotation, adverse weather, air traffic control requirements and technical issues such as Aircraft on Ground (AOG) status.

For passengers affected by MAB’s cancellations, Hasbi said reallocation to available Malaysia Airlines flights is offered, and if none are available, alternative flights on other carriers will be provided.

“Once notified of the reallocation plan, passengers can accept, modify or request a refund,” he said.

Regarding ticket prices between Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan, Hasbi said the government has introduced measures, including subsidised flights for eligible public university, polytechnic and community college students under the FlySiswa scheme.

Also, a maximum fare of RM599 for one-way economy tickets within three days of major festivities has been introduced, with the government covering the difference between the original fare and this limit.

He said at the Cabinet meeting on Sept 3, it was agreed that FlySiswa and other festive travel subsidy initiatives for flights to Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan, as approved in Budget 2024, would be established as annual programmes under the Transport Ministry. – Bernama