MP Kinabatangan Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin has described the move by local airline companies to hike flight fares especially to Sabah and Sarawak during the festive season, as daylight robbery.
The Sabah Deputy Chief Minister said Muslims would be celebrating Hari Raya Aidilfitri in a few weeks and Sabahans in the Peninsula would want to return home. But, many have to cancel their plan as they would not be able to afford the soaring airfares.
“Imagine a one-way economy flight ticket selling at RM2,800 and can go as high as RM3,600. This sort of thing should not be happening, the airlines cannot overcharge passengers unfairly,” he was quoted as saying.
“The people of Sabah are baffled by this. The Transport Ministry must intervene and address this issue immediately,” he added.
“Some airlines have made it a condition that all passengers check in through self-service kiosks and a fee of RM100 would be charged if passengers check in through the counter, which was not fair to the non-tech savvy,” he commented on the inconvenience caused to the non-tech savvy ones.
“Airline companies must understand that in Sabah, many still do not own a smartphone and some village folks hardly know how these check-in kiosks work,” he said.
Yesterday, Chief Minister Datuk Hajiji Noor was reported to have urged the Federal government through the Transport Ministry to find a way to reduce the price of the flight tickets.
