Sarawak minister hopes flight cuts only ‘short-term lull’ as it may affect tourism

Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah

By Shikin Louis

KUCHING, Aug 30: The recent temporary flight reductions by Malaysia Airlines (MAS), Firefly, and Amal are hoped to be a short-term lull as if it is prolonged, it will have some effect on Sarawak tourism.

In stating this, Sarawak Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts (MTCP) Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah noted that there have been a number of flights bound for Sarawak being delayed in the last few weeks.

“During the recently concluded Malaysia Games (Sukma), there have been quite a number of delayed flights. In Miri, some of the athletes faced a nine-hour delay, and they had to stay at the airport because they had already checked out from their accommodations.

“Thus, this matter has created some kind of inconvenience to the public. No doubt, you can give them the meal coupon, but that is not good enough.

“What we want is that the flight schedule should be in order,” he said during a press conference after witnessing the memorandum of agreement (MOA) exchange ceremony between Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak) and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) held at Baitul Makmur II in Petra Jaya here today.

Abdul Karim was responding to reports that MAS, Firefly, and Amal will reduce their flight frequency until December to address issues that have resulted in a recent spate of disruptions such as engine failures, emergency landings, flight diversions, aircraft maintenance, supply chain disruptions, and technical problems with aircraft manufacturers.

Recent reports have highlighted at least four incidents in August alone. For instance, a MAS flight from London to Kuala Lumpur earlier this month was diverted to Doha, Qatar, due to a technical issue during cruising. One passenger was reportedly stranded in Doha for over 60 hours.

Other incidents include a MAS flight en route to Jeddah on Aug 4 that returned to Kuala Lumpur, a flight to Shanghai on Aug 20 that turned back due to a suspected cabin pressure issue, and a Melbourne-Kuala Lumpur flight on Aug 19 that was diverted to Alice Springs Airport in Australia due to a technical issue.

In response, Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), which owns the three airlines, announced on Aug 24 that it would “temporarily reduce its network” until December while addressing the ongoing challenges.

MAG’s Group Managing Director, Captain Izham Ismail, stated that the group is actively working to resolve supply chain constraints, manpower challenges, and other external factors as part of the broader normalisation of global aviation operations post-pandemic. — DayakDaily