KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 26): Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) saw a 22.3% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in passenger movement in both its Malaysian and Turkish airport network, reaching 9.6 million passengers in November, compared to 7.86 million in the same month the previous year.

In its monthly passenger traffic snapshot to Bursa Malaysia, MAHB disclosed that Malaysia accounted for 6.6 million passengers, while the remaining three million came from the Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SGIA).

Local airports in Malaysia registered 3.4 million passengers for international sectors and 3.9 million for domestic sectors in November, despite the off-peak travel season and minor structural changes in the domestic landscape.

MAHB attributed the sustained traffic growth to the launch of new services, including four weekly flights from KLIA to the United Arab Emirates by Batik Air Malaysia, Rajasansi and Thiruvananthapuram, as well as twice-weekly flights by Malaysia Airlines.

Additionally, MAHB said Firefly also initiated five weekly flights from Penang International Airport to Don Mueang, Bangkok.

"The average load factor for the domestic sector in November recorded above 80% for the second consecutive month, with the airline's seat capacity offered at 66% of pre-pandemic levels, indicating positive recovery in domestic air travel demand," it said.

Meanwhile, MAHB's Turkish operation also maintained its double-digit growth trend, with SGIA's total passenger movements in November showing a 12.4% year-on-year increase, totaling three million passengers and surpassing 2019 levels by 3.5%.

Of this, international passengers recorded an increase of 10.7% to 1.5 million, and domestic passengers saw a 14.3% increase to 1.4 million over November 2022.

Shares in MAHB closed one sen lower at RM7.34 on Tuesday, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM12.25 billion. The stock has gained nearly 12% year to date, and hit a high of RM7.80 in early September.

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