Subsidies for Christmas flights above RM599 to Sarawak, Sabah, Labuan begin at 12.01am on Dec 16

File photo for illustration purposes only. Photo credit: Pixabay

KUCHING, Dec 15: The Federal government will be subsidising one-way economy class flight tickets to Sarawak, Sabah, and Labuan that exceed RM599 for travel from Peninsula Malaysia from Dec 22 to 24.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke in announcing this today said the implementation of this subsidy for Christmas flights this year will commence at 12.01am on Dec 16.

The subsidised one-way economy class flight ticket price, however, excludes taxes and fees.

Loke pointed out that similar subsidies will also continue in 2024 for major festivals, including Chinese New Year, Hari Raya, Hari Gawai, Pesta Kaamatan, and Christmas.

“Flight tickets that cost less than RM599 will be sold at the original price set by the airlines.

“However, for economy class flight tickets exceeding RM599, the government will pay the price difference between the original ticket price and the maximum price,” he said in a statement today.

Loke said the public can purchase the flight tickets starting from the dates mentioned through the websites of domestic airlines namely AirAsia, Firefly, Malaysia Airlines Berhad and Batik Air.

As for that the implementation of the same subsidy for other festivals in 2024, namely Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Hari Gawai, Pesta Keamatan and Christmas, it will begin at 12.01am on Jan 1.

Loke emphasised that the subsidies aim to assist individuals working in the Peninsula who were previously burdened with one-way flight tickets costing over RM1,000 to return to Sarawak, Sabah, and Labuan, considering that flight services are their sole means of transportation.

To facilitate this, he said the Transport Ministry, through the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom), has arranged for an additional 114 flights this Christmas between the Peninsula, Sarawak, Sabah, and Labuan.

“This strategy has shown a positive effect with prices from Kuala Lumpur to the main destinations in Sarawak and Sabah have dropped between five per cent and 33 per cent as of this morning compared to last week,” he added.

Terms and conditions for the subsidised tickets include no allowance for date or flight changes, validity only for the specified flight date, prohibition of passenger name changes, and non-refundability for purchased tickets. — DayakDaily