SHAH ALAM, April 29 — Some 7.3 million domestic airline seat reservations have been cancelled amid the coronavirus pandemic, Sinar Harian reported today.
An unnamed spokesperson from the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) told the Malay daily that the enforced movement control order (MOC) had resulted in a significant decline in air travel demand.
Mavcom said several airliners in Malaysia had also reduced seating capacity for the year due to the low demand and travel restrictions imposed by other countries.
“As of March 26, 2020, an estimated 7.3 airline seat reservations were cancelled, which makes up 8.6 per cent of the total seating capacity of airline companies in Malaysia for the year 2020.
“As for foreign flights that are operating here, there are an estimated 6.7 cancellations of seat reservations in the same time period,” the source was quoted by Sinar Harian.
Mavcom said selected domestic travels are still in operation between Penisular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak.
The commission had also revised its passenger traffic growth forecast for 2020, from the initial projected increase between 4.6 per cent and 5.7 per cent to a decline between 36.2 and 38.1 per cent year-on-year.
The spokesperson added that the revival of the Malaysian aviation industry will depend on China’s recovery in the trade and tourism sectors.
