Call to increase flights on three routes to reduce fares

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The Transport Ministry has advised airlines to increase the frequency of flights on the Kuala Lumpur-Sandakan, Kuala Lumpur-Tawau and Johor Bahru-Sibu routes to reduce the fares during the festive seasons. – File photo

KUALA LUMPUR: The Transport Ministry has advised airlines to increase the frequency of flights on the Kuala Lumpur-Sandakan, Kuala Lumpur-Tawau and Johor Bahru-Sibu routes to reduce the fares during the festive seasons.

Deputy Minister Datuk Kamarudin Jaffar said there was an increase in the fares on these routes during the Pesta Kaamatan, Hari Gawai and Aidilfitri festive seasons this year compared to last year.

He said there was an average increase of 57.6 per cent in the fares on the Kuala Lumpur-Tawau route, 10.48 per cent on the Kuala Lumpur-Sandakan route and 21.78 per cent on the Johor Bahru-Sibu route.

“This happened due to the imbalance between the supply and demand for the provided flight services,” he told the Dewan Rakyat.

He was replying to a question from Vivian Wong Shir Yee (PH-Sandakan) who had wanted to know the effectiveness of introducing additional flights towards reducing the domestic fares during the festive seasons.

Kamarudin said the move was successful in reducing the fares on other routes.

The fares on seven of the 10 routes monitored by the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) dropped by between 12.7 per cent and 74.9 per cent compared to the corresponding festive period in 2018.

“The government will continue to monitor the fares, and the ministry, through Mavcom, will investigate and take the appropriate action if there is drastic price manipulation by airlines.

On another matter, Kamarudin said Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) plans to introduce the Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) train service in the east coast sector in the third quarter of this year.

He said the plan takes into account the receipt of all the 13 new DMU train sets in stages from now until December.

“It also takes into account the period to conduct testing and commissioning prior to putting into operation the 13 DMU train sets,” he said when replying to a question from Ahmad Marzuk Shaary (PAS-Pengkalan Chepa). – Bernama