KUCHING: Bintulu residents can expect some good news as there might be direct flights from the town to Singapore.
Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture and Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said AirAsia may introduce flights between Bintulu and Singapore either in September or October this year.
“This route will help expand Bintulu as a heavy industry hub by attracting more investments.
“Hopefully, this would bring even more benefits, convenience for the business community, and connections to the international market,” he said in a Facebook post after attending the Bintulu Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s 25th Council for 2023-2025 and Seventh Youth Business Installation ceremony in Bintulu.
Tiong also said he had a preliminary understanding with AirAsia to develop more direct flights between Bintulu and Singapore by the end of the year.
He hoped the airline will introduce at least twice-weekly flights for the route.
With the global economy in the recovery stage, more airlines will resume and open more routes to serve more cities in the second half of 2023, which would lead an economic boom for more companies to expand, he said.
On another note, he said although the country has entered the post-pandemic era, the Ministry of Health has issued a warning to be wary of another potential Covid-19 wave.
“Therefore, I called on all businesses and shop owners to take the proper preventive precautions such as masking up to protect public health,” he said.
The COVID-19, he said, has accelerated the transition of businesses and daily life to digitalisation where more transactions are trending towards being contactless and online.
“Although there are traditional businesses that are unsure of how to navigate this digital transformation, I urge them to keep pace with the times by learning to adapt and adopt new tech to remain competitive.
“Therefore, I hope that the Bintulu Chinese Chamber of Commerce can hold a series of training sessions to teach businesses on digitalisation and using technology to transform traditional businesses,” said Tiong.
