KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 2): Malaysia’s air passenger traffic grew 13% year-on-year (y-o-y) to eight million in October 2024, according to a Malaysian Aviation Commission's (Mavcom) statement on Monday.
However, October’s figures represent a slight 2.7% month-on-month drop compared with September’s 8.2 million passengers due to lower domestic air passenger traffic.
The latest monthly air passenger traffic reached 89.7% of the level recorded in October 2019, reflecting the continued recovery in both international and domestic travel following the pandemic.
“The sustained recovery of Malaysia’s aviation sector is evident in the strong y-o-y growth reported for October, building on the positive momentum achieved in September,” said Datuk Seri Saripuddin Kasim, the executive chairman of Mavcom.
Year to date, air passenger traffic reached 80.3 million and according to Mavcom, this puts Malaysia on track to meet its full-year forecast of 95.4 million to 97.6 million passengers.
International travel remained the key growth driver, surging 20.5% y-o-y, while domestic travel increased by 5.9% y-o-y.
The sector’s recovery has been bolstered by expanded seat capacity, the introduction of new flight routes, and visa exemptions for Chinese and Indian travellers, positioning Malaysia as a prime destination for both leisure and business travellers.
Mavcom said the country’s major airports saw positive growth in October 2024.
The Kuala Lumpur International Airport led with a 15.9% increase y-o-y, followed by Penang International Airport (up 14.7%) and Senai International Airport (up 16%) while Langkawi International Airport saw a slight decline of 1.7% y-o-y.
Meanwhile, the Kota Kinabalu International Airport and Kuching International Airport recorded increases of 9.3% and 4.3%, respectively.
Air cargo movements also saw significant improvement in the third quarter of 2024, increasing 21.7% y-o-y to 277,954 metric tons, driven by a 26.6% y-o-y rise in international cargo, while domestic cargo saw a 7.8% increase, reaching 64,176 metric tons.
“This upward trend is partly due to ongoing disruptions in the Red Sea, which have prompted businesses to shift from sea freight to air freight for greater reliability,” Mavcom noted.