KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia expects its load factor to reach at least 95 per cent of the pre-Covid-19 level by year-end.
AirAsia Malaysia chief executive officer Riad Asmat said with the new ruling in place, the arrival of tourists is expected to be encouraging in months to come.
"Malaysia is taking a huge step ahead with the opening of its borders starting today, which is an important milestone in the long journey towards the recovery of the travel industry in the region.
"Today, a total of 12 international flights will be arriving at klia2, marking the revival of AirAsia international operations after more than two years of flying downtime due to the pandemic.
"With the encouraging load factor today, hopefully by year-end, we should at least reach 95 per cent of our pre-Covid-19 level," he told a press conference after welcoming AirAsia's international flight from Jakarta.
Riad said the load factor of its 12 international flights today, namely from Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Bangladesh, the Philippines and India was almost 60 per cent.
"Furthermore, the situation is very encouraging when it comes to ticket sales for the coming weeks and months.
"As such, I believe we should be able to achieve the target we are aiming for as an airline and the country."
Recently, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said two million visitors were expected to arrive in the country and could contribute up to RM8.6 billion by year-end to the country's economy.
Riad said AirAsia's passengers could rest assured that the airline remained committed to upholding the highest standards of safety and hygiene at all times.
"Every AirAsia Allstar crew on-ground and in the air is fully vaccinated and ready to provide world-class service and the best quality guest experience alongside stringent safety rules and procedures to give our guests total peace of mind.
"We are also following the regulations and rely on the policymakers to ensure everything is done safely.
"The path being shown to all of us, especially the industry players is very clear. We know what we need to do, in terms of preparation and keeping the environment safe, along with accepting the fact that we have to live with this unfortunate virus (Covid-19)."