Loke sees Malaysia’s air passenger traffic finally surpassing pre-Covid levels this year

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 15 — Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said today air passenger traffic in 2025 is projected to finally surpass pre-pandemic levels.

In a press conference here, he said the growth will be driven by increased seat capacity, rising demand for international travel, and an overall increase in household income.

“For 2025, Malaysia’s aviation sector is expected to achieve significant growth. Mavcom projects Malaysia’s air passenger traffic to reach between 105.8 million and 112.9 million passengers,” he said, referring to the Malaysian Aviation Commission.

“The growth in air passenger numbers in 2025 is expected to surpass the previous record of 109.3 million set in 2019, representing a year-on-year growth of 8.4 per cent to 15.6 per cent,” he added.

Airlines are also expected to increase capacity by 15.8 per cent in 2025 compared to the previous year, said Loke.

“This increase is driven by a significant rise in domestic travel, forecasted to grow by 21.1 per cent year-on-year,” he added.

The top three regions expected to experience seat capacity growth from Malaysia are Africa, Europe, and South Asia.

However, Loke said the supply chain remains a major challenge for the industry, impacted by the pandemic, causing delays in aircraft manufacturing, component shortages, and global logistics disruptions.

“Despite these issues, Malaysian airlines are proactively addressing challenges by reassessing cost structures, optimizing maintenance schedules, renegotiating supplier contracts, and reducing overhead expenses,” he said.

Mavcom expects air cargo volume in 2025 to increase by 4.5 per cent to 8.5 per cent year-on-year, supported by economic recovery and continued developments in the e-commerce sector.

For last year, Malaysia’s air passenger traffic increased by 14.3 per cent compared to the previous year, reaching a total of 97.1 million passengers, aligned with Mavcom’s projection of 95.4 to 97.6 million passengers.

It was contributed by several key factors, including the increase in seat capacity provided by airlines, visa exemptions for tourists from China and India, and enhanced connectivity to key destinations such as China, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Australia, and Gulf countries.

Last year also saw airlines launching new air routes, including to Kazakhstan and Kenya.

When asked if he was “happy or very happy” with the performance, Loke said he sits in the middle as “more needs to be done”.