KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd's (MAHB) domestic passenger movements surged 74 per cent month-on-month (MoM) to 363,000 in September 2021, following the success of the Langkawi Travel Bubble and the progress of the National Recovery Plan (NRP).
In a statement today, the airport operator said passenger movements for Malaysia jumped 55 per cent last month, comprising 362,000 (domestic) and 96,000 (international).
"Domestic aircraft movements increased 20 per cent MoM in September, registering more than 10,000 flights.
"We are optimistic about the encouraging travel trend will continue with the lifting of the interstate and international travel restrictions," it added.
During the initial implementation between September 16 to September 29, the Langkawi Travel Bubble recorded about 37,000 passenger movements.
Local airlines had also benefitted from it with AirAsia, recording the most aircraft movements with 176 flights and commanding the majority of the average seat factor at 64 per cent during the same period.
"The upward trend is further boosted by the lifting of interstate travel restrictions this month that applies for all areas nationwide except those still under Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO)."
Meanwhile, MAHB's Turkish asset, Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (ISG), posted 2.7 million passenger movements in September.
MAHB said ISG remained the main contributor to the group's total passenger movements of 3.2 million passengers in September 2021.
"ISG continues to show strong recovery driven by accelerated vaccination roll-out rates and border relaxation in Europe.
"Ranked among the top countries with access to the vaccine, Turkey projects a high inoculation rate of the nation to achieving public immunity by the end of 2021."
To date, about 74.5 per cent of the Turkish population has been fully vaccinated. This month, the country will also be rolling out the mass production of its developed Covid-19 vaccine, Turkovac, intensifying its efforts to return to normalcy.
On the group's cargo operations, the arrival of China Central Longhao Airlines to Kuala Lumpur International Airport last month continued to validate air cargo's increasing importance within the local aviation landscape.
The Chinese cargo carrier operated the Shenzhen-Kuala Lumpur route with a tri-weekly service.
Total cargo operations for Malaysia Airports till September saw a 24 per cent increase from the same period last year, about 726,800 metric tonnes.
MAHB added air cargo remained an important vehicle for aviation and economic recovery.
