Malaysia's aviation industry is poised to witness a 4% growth in overall passenger additions in 2024. It is driven by the expansion of several local airlines, the emergence of several new foreign airlines and the gradual re-attraction of tourists from China.
According to MIDF's statement, the research firm expects that airline traffic flying in Malaysian airspace in December 2023 will receive a boost based on the 30-day visa-free entry agreement for China, India and the Middle East.
He also said that several local airlines and the top five foreign airlines will increase their seat capacity by around 24% to 31% in 2024.
Notable airlines expected to enter Malaysia in the second half of 2024 include Air India, British Airways and Qantas.
In addition, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd. (MAHB) is now actively expanding its hub and they are targeting as many as 83 airlines from various countries in the next two years.
As the industry is planning for expansion, MIDF still maintains its neutral stance towards MAHB and Capital A Bhd's aviation industry. It is due to the potential increase from strong domestic traffic at Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport and the expected new operating agreement in the first quarter of 2024.
Malaysia's aviation sector has shown a strong recovery in passenger traffic in November 2023 achieving a 77% increase compared to the pre-pandemic era.
Malaysia's passenger traffic rose 27.4% year-on-year in the November 2023 report, with 6.6 million passengers. Meanwhile, international passenger traffic jumped by 51.8% and domestic passengers by 8.8% compared to November 2022.
MIDF also attributed the positive growth in international traffic to the launch of four new services from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to the United Arab Emirates by Batik Air Malaysia. More interestingly, Malaysia Airlines will start its service to fly to India and Firefly to Thailand.
