KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 — Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) showed an unusually strong growth momentum with a record of 11 million passenger movements in February this year despite the shorter month.
In a Bursa Malaysia filing today, it was said that the figure exceeded February 2019 levels by 3.3 per cent.
The robust growth was contributed to by several factors, including the one-month year-end school holidays, the eight-day Chinese Spring Festival season, 30-day visa exemptions for China and India, the introduction of new airlines and additional frequencies, as well as the festivities of the Chinese New Year and the Routes Asia event in Langkawi.
“Remarkably, the international passenger movements recorded new highs exceeding five million marks for the second consecutive month at 5.8 million passengers, a double-digit increase of 12.8 per cent over February 2019.
“Domestic passenger movements were equally encouraging, recording 5.2 million passengers reaching a high recovery rate of 94.5 per cent,” MAHB said.
Overall, Malaysian airports experienced resilient traffic, reaching new highs of 7.8 million passengers, with a remarkable recovery rate of 95.8 per cent, surpassing 90 per cent for the first time.
Meanwhile, its daily average international passenger movements occasionally exceeded February 2019 levels, indicating significant progress.
The implementation of a 30-day visa-free entry from December 1 last year significantly contributed to the substantial growth rates of 86 per cent in passengers from China and 90 per cent in passengers from India over 2019 levels.
Meanwhile, Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport’s (SGIA) February 2024 traffic remained robust, experiencing a 27.4 per cent growth compared to 2019 levels and slightly surpassing January 2024 passenger numbers by 0.2 per cent, reaching 3.2 million passengers.
International travel continues to be the primary driver of this growth, showcasing an impressive 86.0 per cent increase over February 2019 and a remarkable 31.9 per cent surge compared to February 2023.
— Bernama
