KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) showed an unusually strong growth momentum with a record of 11 million passenger movements in February 2024 despite the shorter month.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, the airport operator said the figure exceeded February 2019 levels by 3.3 per cent.
MAHB also said that the robust growth was contributed to by several factors, including the one-month year-end school holidays, the eight-day Chinese Spring Festival season, 30-day visa exemptions for China and India, the introduction of new airlines and additional frequencies, as well as the festivities of the Chinese New Year and the Routes Asia event in Langkawi.
“Remarkably, the international passenger movements recorded new highs exceeding 5 million marks for the second consecutive month at 5.8 million passengers, a double-digit increase of 12.8 per cent over February 2019.
“Domestic passenger movements were equally encouraging, recording 5.2 million passengers reaching a high recovery rate of 94.5 per cent,“ it said.
Overall, MAHB said, Malaysian airports experienced resilient traffic, reaching new highs of 7.8 million passengers, with a remarkable recovery rate of 95.8 per cent, surpassing 90 per cent for the first time.
Meanwhile, its daily average international passenger movements occasionally exceeded February 2019 levels, indicating significant progress.
The implementation of a 30-day visa-free entry from Dec 1, 2023, significantly contributed to the substantial growth rates of 86 per cent and 90 per cent respectively in passengers from China and India over 2019 levels.
Meanwhile, Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport’s (SGIA) February 2024 traffic remained robust, experiencing a 27.4 per cent growth compared to 2019 levels and slightly surpassing January 2024 passenger numbers by 0.2 per cent, reaching 3.2 million passengers.
International travel continues to be the primary driver of this growth, showcasing an impressive 86.0 per cent increase over February 2019 and a remarkable 31.9 per cent surge compared to February 2023. –Bernama