KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 — Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd’s (MAHB) network of airports recorded 9.92 million passenger movements in May 2023, up 37.7 per cent from the 7.20 million posted in the same month last year.

This was the highest traffic it has achieved since the pandemic outbreak in March 2020, overtaking the December 2022 volume of 9.52 million, the airport operator said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today.

The last time its traffic exceeded 10 million was in January 2020 (11.89 million) and the number dropped to 8.87 million the following month.

MAHB said the performance was progressing well towards the pre-pandemic level driven by strong traffic recovery from both Malaysia and Turkiye operations.

It said both the international and domestic sectors posted their highest volume since March 2020 at 4.6 million and 5.4 million passengers, respectively.

For its airports in Malaysia, MAHB said passenger movements hit a new high with 6.83 million passengers in May 2023, up 48.6 per cent against the 4.60 million posted in the same month last year.

The international sector gathered momentum with 2.98 million passengers following the significant traffic increase from Indonesia, United Arab Emirates and China, it said.

It said that during the month, Xiamen Air expanded its network by commencing direct international flights from Chongqing to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), while AirAsia expanded its network from KLIA to Kertajati, the only carrier operating the route.

AirAsia X started a new service to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi with five weekly frequencies and Batik Air Malaysia launched new daily flights operating to Maldives, it said.

"Domestic sector was equally remarkable, recording the highest passenger movements for the year driven by the two-week school break, multiple public holidays that continued to early May following the Raya festive season, Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition and movements of haj pilgrims from Malaysia Airports Sdn Bhd airports to KLIA.

"The growth of domestic passenger movements was also supported by Firefly jet operations with daily flights to Sandakan, Tawau, and Miri from Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, and Penang,” it noted.

As for the Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport in Turkiye, MAHB said that passenger numbers stood at nearly three million passengers in May 2023, a print that was registered generally during the peak summer season in the years 2022 and 2019 driven partly by the international sector.

"It is encouraging to note that the international sector reached a significant milestone registering 1.58 million in May 2023, a mark that was recorded during the peak summer season in the year 2022 and the highest passenger movements recorded for the airport.

"International connectivity continues to grow for the airport with Anadolu jet commencing daily flights to Rome, and Royal Air Maroc to Casablanca with four weekly frequencies in May 2023,” it added.

MAHB currently manages 39 airports across Malaysia as well as one international airport in Turkiye. — Bernama