Minister: Gov't working with airlines to bring down flight fares to pre-Covid-19 level

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Alexander Nanta Linggi said both the federal government and the Sarawak state government are coordinating efforts with airlines to reduce the price of flight tickets to Sarawak back to the pre-Covid-19 price level.

“We feel that what they are charging now is too steep, but we understand because there are very few flights and because of social distancing, they cannot carry a full load.

“But having said that, we want Malaysian Airlines Bhd (MAS) to quickly resolve the issue so that they can bring down their fares to an affordable and fair price.

“The federal and state governments are also working it out with MAS. It is tripartite in the sense that the federal and state government and MAS, Malindo Airlines and AirAsia will be able to come to the arrangement where they can bring back the pre-Covid-19 crisis fare,” the minister said when contacted by Malaysiakini today.

When asked whether the government plans to subsidise the fares, Alexander said he does not know, and it is not for him to answer.

Previously, Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the Transport Ministry is discussing with airlines to try and resolve the issue of expensive tickets for domestic air travel, especially to Sabah and Sarawak.

“We understand that airfares are expensive because the implementation of social distancing has forced passenger capacity to be cut to 66 percent.

“We know that a one-way ticket could reach almost RM2,000 for a flight from Miri to Kuala Lumpur, so we are discussing. We hope there will be no more issue for them to raise fares and the like,” he said.

A few days later, he had announced that flights, along with other public transportation, would be allowed to operate at full capacity. - Mkini