AirBorneo has issued a formal clarification following a wave of flight delays and cancellations that have left passengers stranded across Sabah and Sarawak since June 5, 2026. The Sarawak state-owned airline warned that travel disruptions are highly likely to persist over the coming days.
The carrier attributed the scheduling crisis to an unexpected backlog in engineering bays, citing a combination of concurrent fleet constraints.
According to AirBorneo, the primary catalyst for the widespread disruptions is a series of unscheduled technical rectifications required on several of its aircraft. These came alongside routinely scheduled maintenance overhauls that were already underway across the fleet.
In line with aviation safety protocols, the carrier confirmed it proactively withdrew multiple aircraft from active service as a strict precautionary measure after they required targeted technical attention.
“The affected aircraft have been pulled from service until our engineers are fully satisfied they are entirely fit to fly,” the airline said in a statement. “With several aircraft undergoing maintenance and technical rectification concurrently, our operating fleet remains temporarily constrained.”
The grounding creates an operational bottleneck for the airline, which took over regional routes and Rural Air Services (RAS) at the start of the year following the acquisition of MASwings.
AirBorneo noted that its operations and flight crews are working around the clock under adjusted duty requirements to manage the fallout and progressively return aircraft to the skies. To mitigate the impact on passengers, dedicated ground teams are currently re-accommodating affected travellers onto the earliest available alternative flights.
However, because the fleet is operating at reduced capacity, the airline emphasised that the public must brace for rolling schedule adjustments.
