KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian aviation sector has shown signs of recovery in September and October 2021, reflecting the 56.6 per cent and 190.2 per cent month-on-month (MoM) growth in air passenger traffic, respectively.
According to the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom), air passenger traffic increased by 5.3 per cent and 14.9 per cent, respectively, in both months compared to the same months in 2019.
The data was revealed yesterday in Mavcom's 10th edition of Industry Report - Waypoint, outlining the performance of the Malaysian aviation sector in the third quarter (Q3) of 2021.
The commission said total air passenger traffic for 2021 is expected to edge closer to its best-case forecast of 6.9 million to 7.8 million air travel passengers.
Executive chairman Datuk Seri Saripuddin Kasim said the commission is pleased to note the easing of travel restrictions, travel bubbles, the reopening of international borders in light of Malaysia's rapid vaccination rollout, and the recent Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) to Singapore.
"These initiatives have allowed for tourism activities to restart with early indications pointing towards a positive outlook for Malaysia's air passenger traffic in 2022," he said in a statement yesterday.
He said the Malaysian aviation sector's journey to full recovery would still be far from over.
"Aviation industry players may still face significant challenges ahead with the rise in Brent crude oil and jet fuel prices that could impact operational costs, as well as possible outbreaks of new Covid-19 variants, including the fast-spreading Omicron variant."
However, he said Mavcom remained hopeful that the industry would continue to progress, particularly as the government considers reopening mutual borders with several countries.
Mavcom said air passenger traffic is projected to increase between 316 per cent and 525 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in 2022, representing between 32.6 million and 49.0 million air travel passengers.
This would likely mark a 30 to 45 per cent recovery from the pre-pandemic air passenger traffic levels in 2019.
Additionally, airlines are expected to expand seat capacity as pent-up travel demand gradually, and accrued savings drive passenger traffic growth in 2022, said Mavcom.
The commission said the Langkawi domestic travel bubble, which commenced on September 16, 2021, saw a significant increase of domestic air passengers in September and October 2021 by 2,411.0 per cent MoM and 261.4 per cent MoM, respectively.
The recent easing of border restrictions for international travellers is expected to support this air passenger traffic growth further.
Meanwhile, demand for air cargo remains resilient as Malaysia's air cargo volume in terms of total freight tonne-kilometre (FTK) recorded a robust growth of 19.7 per cent YoY in Q3 2021.
The commission expected air cargo to remain vital to the industry for the remainder of 2021 and in 2022.
It said air cargo traffic is likely to grow by between 3.9 per cent and 6.7 per cent YoY in 2022, which translates into 20.8 billion to 21.6 billion FTK.
This would be underpinned by the progress of vaccination programmes, strong growth of e-commerce, electrical and electronics, and demand from Malaysia's main trading partners.