KUALA LUMPUR: Between January and August this year, a total of 61,014 out of 258,116 flights operated by local airlines were delayed, representing 24 per cent, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.
Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Hasbi Habibollah said of these, 55,024 flights were delayed for less than two hours from the scheduled departure time, while the remaining flights were delayed for more than two hours.
He said in 2023, a total of 90,696 out of 444,234 scheduled flights were cancelled, which accounted for 20 per cent.
"Last year, as of August, 57,276 flights out of 315,388 total scheduled flights were cancelled, making the total number of flights operated last year 353,838.
"The number of flights operated as of August this year was 258,112," he said in response to Mohamad Shafizan Kepli (GPS-Batang Lupar).
Shafizan had asked about the extent to which the reduction in Malaysia Airlines flights had impacted consumers, the available alternatives and monitoring efforts to ensure that airfare costs do not burden users, especially residents of Sabah and Sarawak, who rely heavily on air transportation.
Hasbi said that flight delays were attributed to airline operations, including aircraft and crew rotation, as well as extraordinary circumstances and technical issues.
"Flight cancellations are due to various factors, including commercial issues like poor load factors, operational problems such as crew shortages and late arrivals, unusual conditions like weather and air traffic control and technical issues such as aircraft on the ground."