by FARA AISYAH / pic by MUHD AMIN NAHARUL

MALAYSIA Airports Holdings Bhd’s (MAHB) network of airports recorded 3.53 million passenger movements in September, a decline of 69.4% year-on-year (YoY) against 11.55 million travellers in September 2019.

Meanwhile, domestic passenger movements in Malaysia were partly driven by pre-election movements and leisure travel to Sabah, Kuching, Langkawi, Penang and Kota Baru, recording the highest daily passenger movements at more than 70,000 passengers since June 2020.

“Likewise, Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport’s (SGIA) domestic passenger movements showed robust growth, registering 73% of September 2019 domestic passengers volume,” the group noted in an exchange filing yesterday.

The airport operator added that the resumption of flights by British Airways and Oman Air to Malaysia in the first week of October brought optimism of international air travel demand under a constrained environment. Meanwhile, Istanbul SGIA welcomed Kuwait Airways — the seventh foreign airlines that resumed operations at the international airport.

MAHB’s network of airports recorded three million domestic and 500,000 international passengers with a YoY decline of 50.4% and 90.7% respectively, compared to September 2019.

On a last 12-month basis, overall MAHB’s network of airports declined by 47.8% YoY with 72.4 million passengers.

Overall aircraft movements declined by 56.8% YoY, with international and domestic aircraft movements contracted by 81.4% and 40.4% YoY respectively against September 2019.

Airports in Malaysia registered 1.7 million passenger movements in September 2020, a decline of 79.5% YoY against September 2019.

The local airports’ domestic and international sectors recorded 1.6 million and 88,000 passengers with YoY declines of 61.4% and 97.9% respectively.

Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s (KLIA) passenger movements recorded a decline of 88.2% YoY against September 2019 with 580,000 passenger movements.

Domestic and international passenger movements registered a decline of 64.8% and 97.5% respectively.

September’s passenger movements for KLIA Main Terminal and KLIA2 decreased by 92.8% and 84% YoY respectively. The last 12-month passenger movements for KLIA Main Terminal recorded 13.5 million passengers, a decline of 52.8% YoY.

Meanwhile, KLIA2 recorded 15.2 million passengers, a decline of 53.9% YoY against the same corresponding period last year.

MAHB said the recently Targeted Enhanced Movement Control Order at some zones, and travel ban in and to Sabah that came into effect on Oct 12, as measures to contain the spread of Covid-19, continue to have an immediate impact to domestic traffic.

“Nevertheless, demand for air travel is expected to show continued resilience, as it has done over the last few months.

“Traffic recovery in the near term will depend on effective measures and standard operating procedures undertaken by the government, reinforced by airports and airlines measures and actions to ensure safety and security of passengers travelling by air,” it added.