PETALING JAYA: Malaysia passenger movements crossed the 100 million threshold for the first time while KLIA breached the 60 million mark with 62.3 million passengers, according to a statement by Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB).
In its passenger traffic snapshot for December 2019, MAHB said its total network of airports registered 5.6% growth for 2019 over 2018 with 140.7 million passenger movements, the highest volume of passengers handled by the network of airports.
“2019 passenger performance was above the expected target set by MAHB, recording several firsts in passenger traffic. The overall increases were supported by both domestic and international passengers. The unusual 9.5% domestic passenger growth is partly a correction from previous low performance,” it said.
MAHB also noted that while the 3% international passenger growth was above its target, the low growth was also partly due to capacity shift from international to domestic sector.
The growth seen in 2019 was supported by the airlines’ additional frequencies, direct connectivity and also contribution by new routes that were not operated previously.
In 2019, (12 new airlines began new operations or completed full year new operations over 2018 into MAHB’s Malaysia airports. 20 airlines recorded double-digit growth.
There were 16 new destinations operated by existing and new airlines and 64 city pairs registered double-digit growth.
On the local front, Malaysia recorded a growth of 6.1% registering 105.2 million passengers in 2019 over 2018. International and domestic passenger movements grew by 3% and 9.5% respectively.
“Despite the slower growth of the international passengers in comparison to the domestic passengers, international movements continued to retain more than 50% of the passenger market share for 2019.
“12 of the 21 of MAHB’s main airports especially from Sabah and Sarawak registered high double-digit growth in passenger movements. The domestic passenger growth at these airports was impressive in the first three quarters of 2019,” the group said.
Overall average load factor was 75.0% in 2019, 0.7 percentage points more than 2018. December registered highest load factor of 77.6% for the year.
KLIA passenger movements registered 62.3 million passengers in 2019, a growth of 3.9% over 2018.
International and domestic passenger movements grew by 3% and 6.2% respectively. KLIA Main Terminal passenger movements increased by 3.9% to 29.2 million while klia2 passenger movements also increased by 3.9% to 33.1 million.
Meanwhile, Istanbul SGIA passenger movements registered 35.5 million passengers, recording a growth of 4.1% in 2019 over 2018. International passenger movements recorded a 20.6% growth, but domestic traffic declined by 4.4%.
Looking ahead, MAHB said Visit Malaysia Year (VMY2020) and the government’s announcement of visa free entrance for Chinese and Indian tourists is expected to have a positive impact on the passenger movements.
“These travellers who make up about 23% of air passengers in 2019 will be an additional catalyst to boost international passenger traffic movements. Despite the on-going global economic challenges, MAHB is cautiously optimistic in forecasting the 2020 passenger traffic movements.
“However, a traffic growth in the lower end of 5% - 6% for 2020 as released by Malaysia Aviation Commission’s Waypoint report that was issued in December 2019 would be achievable. There would likely be a balanced growth for both domestic and international sectors,” it said.
Istanbul SGIA is expected to consolidate its international traffic further, while some moderation in the decline of the domestic passengers is foreseen for 2020.
