MAHB announced its network of airports passenger traffic for 1Q24, recorded more than 90% recovery rate against 1Q19 with 31.4 million passenger movements.
It noted that the international passenger movements have surpassed 1Q19 for the first time by 5% registering 16.9 million for 1Q24, mainly driven by Istanbul SGIA airlines’ strong network international expansion recording a double-digit recovery rate of 73.8% over the same quarter in 2019, while Malaysia international passengers continued to register new highs. Domestic passenger movements were subtle, recording 14.5 million with an 82.9% recovery rate over 2019 levels, an indication that airlines are expanding more to the international sector compared to domestic.
In addition, it said the March 2024 passenger movements were encouraging, despite the Ramadan month, the network of airports recorded 10.2 million passengers slightly higher than January 2024 normal month, driven by both domestic and international sectors. In the past, Ramadan month posted the lowest traffic for the year.
On the local front, Malaysia Airports 1Q24 total passenger movements continued to be buoyant, recording the highest traffic at 21.8 million passengers since year 2020 and reaching 85.9% of 1Q19 traffic. International sector contributed 53.7% at 11.7 million passengers with an 89.4% recovery rate over 1Q19, while the domestic sector recorded 10.1 million passengers reaching 82.2% of 1Q19 levels.
There were 1,386 additional weekly frequencies in 1Q24 compared to 1Q23 mainly driven by new airline operations.
MAHB is also monitoring the recent conflict in West Asia and the possible impact on jet fuel and higher operating cost as airlines reroute flights to avoid specific airspace.
