MAHB February passenger traffic continues to show an uptick with borders reopening in many countries and flights are starting to resume. Its February passenger traffic performance continued to show growth with more than 4 million passenger volume despite the month having fewer days than other months.
Malaysia and Istanbul SGIA recorded 2.5million and 2.1million passenger movements, respectively with both operations equally contributing to the growth. Both had daily average passenger movements of 90,500 and 68,000, compared to January 2022 at 88,000 and 59,000 daily average volume.
This indicates a strong turning point for air traffic recovery. The setback from the reimposition of travel restrictions following the recent Omicron wave was temporary, with traffic rebound quickly recording higher daily average passenger movements for February compared to January 2022.
MAHB has ensured all airports are ready to receive international passengers with safety protocols in place while ensuring passenger experiences are smooth. The 2021 ASQ recognition awarded to KL International Airport and Langkawi International Airport recently on the category of airport over 40million passengers per annum and 2 to 5million passengers per annum is a strong testament of efforts that were put in throughout the lull period.
The closure of Ukraine and Russia’s air space has temporarily disrupted flights between Istanbul SGIA and Ukraine. Flights to Moscow and St Petersburg which initially continued with limited frequencies were also temporarily suspended from 13th March to 10th April 2022. Notwithstanding, the first eight days of March, daily average passenger movements for
Istanbul SGIA was higher at 75,000 passengers compared to February 2022 at 68,000.
As for the Asia Pacific airlines, the air space closures have propelled airlines to reroute flights to Europe, adding flight time and increasing fuel consumption and cost. MAHB is closely monitoring the ongoing developments in Ukraine along with the rising jet fuel price and would continue the impact on the Group’s international traffic.
