SIBU: A meeting has been held with AirAsia to tackle the escalating prices of air tickets from Kuala Lumpur to Sibu and Miri, disclosed Sibu MP Oscar Ling.
During the discussion, AirAsia highlighted its current challenges, including changes in the US dollar exchange rate, rising operational costs, and delays in re-commissioning idle aircraft due to high demand.
“In the aviation industry, expenses such as aircraft leasing, fuel, and others are calculated in US dollars, leading to increased operational costs,” Ling stated in a press release today.
Ling emphasized that the discussions also encompassed the Singapore-Sibu routes.
He explained that the decision to suspend the flights on these routes was driven by the inability to break even due to insufficient passenger volume, resulting in continuous losses.
“They have been incurring continuous losses on the Singapore-Sibu route. Sarawak still requires further tourism or other entrepreneurial ventures. We can think about resuming our flights only with encouragement and support,” he remarked.
Ling also expressed concern about exorbitant flight ticket prices during festive seasons and proposed that increasing the number of flights could help reduce ticket costs.
“The government is urging AirAsia to increase midnight flights as part of emergency preparedness,” he added.
Ling said that when all the details had been worked out and finalised, the outcome of the discussions would be announced.
