MAHB records 9.6m passenger movements in November 2023

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 26 — Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) network of airports registered 9.6 million passenger movements in November 2023, reaching 83.3 per cent over pre-pandemic levels.

The airport operator said the total passenger movements for the network of airports were driven by the international sector, which registered 4.9 million passengers and sustained a monthly recovery rate above 89.5 per cent over 2019 levels since July 2023. 

“The domestic sector trailing at 4.6 million passenger movements, reaching 77.6 per cent of 2019 levels, partly due to airlines expansions to the international sector and the unexpected decline in domestic capacity from mid-October,” it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today.

It said the international and domestic sectors depicted 2019 trends at 52 per cent and 48 per cent market share although traffic is still recovering. 

“International and domestic passenger movements registered 3.4 million and 3.2 million passengers, an increase of 51.8 per cent and 8.8 per cent over November 2022 respectively,” it said. 

MAHB said the continuous traffic growth in November was partly due to the introduction of four new services from KLIA to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with four weekly flights by Batik Air Malaysia, Raja Sansi and Thiruvananthapuram with twice weekly flights by Malaysia Airlines.

It said Firefly commenced five weekly flights to Don Mueang from Penang International Airport.

Meanwhile, the airport operator said Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (SGIA) recorded close to three million passenger movements in November 2023, superseding 2019 at 3.5 per cent.

“International and domestic passenger movements were almost equal registering at 1.5 million and 1.4 million passengers amidst the off-peak travel season and the temporary suspension of seven daily flights to Tel Aviv,” it added.