Batik Air First To Increase Flight Numbers As Urged By Anthony Loke

Responding to YB Anthony Loke, Malaysia's Transport Minister, during his visit to the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM), South-East Asian budget airline Batik Air announced today that it will add extra flights to Sabah and Sarawak from the Peninsular for the upcoming holiday season to meet additional demand.

Its CEO, Capt. Mushafiz Mustafa Bakri, stated in a statement yesterday that the increase in flight frequency was in response to Transport Minister Anthony Loke's recent request to airlines to increase flight frequency during the festive season in order to keep airfares affordable. From December 22 to January 3, Batik Air will operate an additional 21 daily flights from KLIA to Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.

Capt. Mushafiz further added that Batik Air will also be looking at the feasibility of increasing the number of flights for the same routes during the upcoming Chinese New Year season.

He however urged passengers to plan early and take advantage of the extra flights by making earlier reservations.

Yesterday, CAAM also agreed to extend its operating hours for a week before and after Chinese New Year, as well as during Hari Raya Aidilfitri to allow airline operators to increase flight frequencies at night.

(Source: The Star)