Ministry waiting for proposals on potential direct flights
- I Love Kuching
- Jul 19, 2017
- 1 min read
KUCHING: The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture is waiting for proposals following formal talks on cooperation with several potential airlines on bringing in more direct flights to the state.
Its assistant minister Datuk Lee Kim Shin stressed viability and commercial factor remained the biggest concerns of airlines wishing to add new routes to their networks.
“We are working hard to bring in connectivity to Kuching but the potential airlines we have had discussions with have yet to come back to us with their proposals,” he told reporters following the first rehearsal for the official Sarawak Day celebration at Kuching Waterfront yesterday.
The airlines include AirAsia, Malindo Air, and Malaysia Airlines, while international airlines could potentially offer charter flights. He revealed that AirAsia had indicated some proposals for one or two profitable destinations initially.
“Air carriers need to make key considerations including market viability, passenger demand and so on before they can open up new destinations,” he said.
“When they come back with proposals, we will work out how we can fully support them, the sector as well as on incentives.”
He said the state government would continue to focus on direct routes to China, Taiwan, Singapore, Korea and Japan.
“Our priority is the China route,” he said, pointing out that the ministry is still working on alternatives to revive the Hong Kong route.
“The problem was mainly due to the limited landing slots at Hong Kong International Airport so they want to give priority to the long haul sectors,” he explained on the suspension of the Kuching-Hong Kong direct flight.
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