BY ABIDGAIL MERTA GANGGANG
THE Ministry of Transport is working with airline companies to expand Sarawak’s connectivity to Indonesia and China.
Its Deputy Minister Datuk Dr Jerip Susil said Kuching will have its first direct connectivity to Jakarta starting June 15.
“The ministry had several engagements with airline leaders resulting in increased connectivity into Sarawak and additional flights from Singapore, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam and Kuala Lumpur into Kuching as well as to Sibu, Bintulu and Miri.
“The flight frequencies within Sarawak were also increased, and with increased flight frequencies operated by more airlines, it will create healthy competition that will result in more affordable and competitive airfares,” he said.
He said this in reply during question and answer session today to Wilfred Yap (GPS-Kota Sentosa) who wanted to know the measures being planned to increase international and domestic flight frequencies and connectivity to and in Sarawak and the steps taken to ensure affordable airfares.
On the numbers of international flights into Sarawak, Dr Jerip said there are a total of 41 flights scheduled into Sarawak weekly, mainly from Singapore and Brunei operated by AirAsia, Malaysia Airlines (MAS), Royal Brunei Airline and Scoot Airline.
“Meanwhile, 447 domestic flights are scheduled from Kota Bharu, Penang Johor Bahru, Labuan and Kota Kinabalu into Sarawak,” he added.
On another note, Dr Jerip said further engagements were also made to increase flight frequencies into Sarawak during festive seasons and school holidays.
