KUCHING: Scoot Tigerair Pte Ltd will operate two flights a week from Singapore to Miri and vice versa starting from mid-January next year.
The Ministry of Transport Sarawak (MOTS) received the green light on Tuesday (Nov 2) from the Ministry of Transport Malaysia, and Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) on Scoot Tigerair Pte Ltd’s application to operate the twice weekly flights.
“Currently, Scoot Tigerair Pte Ltd is operating its flight from Singapore to Kuching twice weekly and it is very timely for the airline to operate to other major cities and towns in Sarawak.
“The number of visitors from Singapore to the state has increased from 38,743 in 2010 to 46,812 visitors in 2019. However, due to the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of visitors from Singapore has gone down to 7,363 in 2020.
“We believe the number of visitors from Singapore into Sarawak will gradually return to normal once the Covid-19 pandemic situation improves with more than 91 percent of the state’s adult population fully vaccinated,” he added.
Furthermore, Lee noted that Shell Malaysia (Shell) would be moving its upstream activities headquarters to Miri.
“The moving of Shell’s total staff of 2,000 across Malaysia to Miri shows the confidence of the company in Sarawak as the preferred investment destination in Malaysia, especially in the oil and gas sector.
“Having said that, with the Scoot Tigerair Pte Ltd flight connecting Singapore and Miri, any Shell personnel from overseas that need to be in Miri will be able to fly directly via Singapore or Kuala Lumpur.
“Hence, the state government welcomes Scoot Tigerair Pte Ltd’s proposal to fly directly between Singapore and Miri.
“This is mainly because Miri has been established as the northern gateway to Sarawak and one of the most popular tourism destinations in the state. It is also the second largest city in Sarawak after Kuching, with a population of more than 356,000 people,” he said.
Lee expressed his gratitude to Sarawak Trade and Tourism Office Singapore (Statos) and the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MTAC) for working together with the Ministry of Transport Sarawak in trying to get and give better air connectivity to business travellers, visitors and tourists to the state.
“We also like to thank MOT Malaysia, Mavcom and the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) for giving Scoot Tigerair Pte Ltd their full support to come to Miri,” he added.
