KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15): The government will cap one-way economy class flights from Peninsular Malaysia to Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan at RM599 for three days prior to Christmas (Dec 22, 23, and 24), said Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook.

This means the government will subsidise any difference between the actual price and the RM599 price cap. The subsidy, however, does not include taxes and fees.

This policy, which was approved by Cabinet on Wednesday, will be continued in 2024 for Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Kaamatan, Gawai, and the Christmas celebration next year, Loke said in an announcement of the subsidy.

For this Christmas, the initiative will be opened from Saturday (Dec 16) at 12.01am. Such tickets can be purchased on the websites of AirAsia, Firefly, Malaysia Airlines and Batik Air.

For the other holidays listed above, the tickets can be booked from the start of 2024, on Jan 1 at 12.01am on the same websites.

However, these tickets cannot undergo change in dates or passenger names, and they are non-refundable.

“In this regard, there may be other variations to the terms and conditions that are offered by certain airlines,” Loke added.

He said the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) had facilitated as many as 114 additional flights between Peninsular Malaysia, and Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.

“This strategy has resulted in a positive impact, where [ticket] prices [for flights] from Kuala Lumpur to major destinations in Sabah and Sarawak had declined by 5% to 33% as of this morning (Friday), compared to the week before,” Loke said.