SIBU: Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Service (Cuepacs) Sarawak urges airline companies to implement low-fare policy throughout the year.
Its president, Ahmad Malie, noted that all this while, airline companies were perceived as taking the opportunity to reap profits by hiking air fares for all sectors during school holiday periods. Instead, he argued, it was during school holiday seasons that airfares should be cheap to encourage people to spend while holidaying and touring together with their families.
Additionally, school holiday periods provide opportunities for civil servants all over the country to return to their respective hometowns, Ahmad said.
“At this time, we view as if airline companies are racing to reap profits by hiking up the fare during school holiday seasons: sometimes, it (the fare) touches RM1,000 for a one-way trip per passenger. To us, such policy by airline companies should not be allowed to continue to the extent that civil servants, especially teachers, need to plan early if they intended to return home or go on a tour during school holidays,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Cuepacs Sarawak appealed to the relevant ministries, such as Ministry of Transport and both federal and state ministeries of tourism, to work something out with airline companies on this matter.