Lee: Sarawak air transport records double-digit growth in first nine months of 2025

KUCHING (Dec 2): Sarawak’s air transport sector continues to chart strong growth, recording double-digit increases in aircraft movements, passenger traffic, and cargo volume in the first nine months of 2025, said Transport Minister Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin.

He said the state recorded 112,625 aircraft movements and 9.07 million passengers up to the third quarter of this year.

“This represented a 15 per cent increase compared with the same period in 2024.

“Over the same period, Sarawak handled 49,895 tonnes of air cargo, which is a notable 15 per cent increase from the 42,381 tonnes recorded in the corresponding period last year,” he said when winding up his ministerial speech at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) Sitting here.

He said Sarawak also received 51 weekly international flights and an average of 551 weekly domestic flights from other Malaysian states.

“Kuching remains the main gateway with 268 flights weekly, followed by Miri (144), Sibu (79), Bintulu (48), Limbang (3), Lawas (2) and Mulu (7).

“Within Sarawak, an average of 684 weekly flights connected major cities and rural areas under the Rural Air Services (RAS), with Miri handling 190 flights, Kuching 164, Sibu 69 and Bintulu 59,” he said.

Sarawak’s international presence, he said, has also strengthened with new scheduled charter links such as the recently launched Haikou-Kuching scheduled charter service by 9Air and the upcoming Shenzhen-Kuching charter by Loong Air which is scheduled to commence soon.

“My ministry will continue working closely with airlines and partner agencies to secure more direct international routes, enhancing Sarawak’s global connectivity and widening economic opportunities,” he said.

On Miri Airport, Lee said the facility continues to operate above its intended capacity, having handled 2.4 million passengers since 2019, surpassing its original 2.0 million-passenger design limit.

To address this, preliminary design works for the airport’s expansion, led by the Public Works Department (JKR) Sarawak under the Ministry of Transport Malaysia, began in April 2025 and are expected to be completed by December 2025.

“These works lay the foundation for the next phase, the full-scale airport expansion, which will increase terminal capacity to 4.0 million passengers, add aerobridges, and improve landside and airside facilities.

“The preliminary design works are currently being finalised for submission to the federal government, while Value Analysis and Value Engineering (VAVE) will soon be conducted to confirm the conceptual design and estimated cost,” he said.

He added that once the upgrading is fully completed, Miri Airport will enhance passenger experience, streamline operations and strengthen its role as a key regional hub, supporting Sarawak’s economic growth and connectivity objectives.