Passenger movements for MAHB network of airports continued to show signs of recovery, exceeding 8 million passengers for the first time since March 2020, with 8.2 million passenger movements recorded in September 2022, or 71% of 2019 September levels. On a quarterly basis, 3Q22 registered the highest quarterly passenger movements since 2Q20 at 24 million passengers, or 71.0% of pre-pandemic levels.
MAHB attributed the marked improvement to the regional easing of travel protocols, the granting of additional flight frequencies at major airports to airlines as well as the reopening of the borders of more countries.
Malaysia predominantly contributed to the total passenger movements for the group’s network of airports, with 64.8% of total airport traffic share. It is also noteworthy that traffic had exceeded the 5 million mark for the first time since March 2020, reaching 5.3 million passengers in September 2022. Domestic sector continues to lead traffic recovery with 3.4 million passenger movements. Nevertheless, as city-pair countries have begun to lift stringent travel protocols and end testing requirements for arrivals and departures, international traffic also recorded a new high of 1.9million passengers for the month.
Aircraft movements showed increased movements to medium and long-haul flights to Perth, Sydney, and Auckland, Southeast Asia and South Asia destinations, as travel restrictions eased, and additional flight frequencies were granted. Average load factor for both domestic and international sectors recorded new highs of 76.9% and 74.0% respectively. The various route introductions by Batik Air Malaysia (formerly known as Malindo Air) also contributed to the international recovery.
Strong demand for air travel also saw Batik Air Malaysia reinstating its Kuala Lumpur – Medan services with 4 flights weekly commencing 30 September 2022. Istanbul SGIA recorded 1.5million and 1.4million for international and domestic passenger
movements respectively, contributing to a mix of 52:48 international to domestic passengers. Traffic at Istanbul SGIA showed signs of reverting to pre-pandemic seasonal trends as the summer holidays reached its tail end in September.
