27 August 2020
Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) is committed to fulfil its role as a custodian of the country’s gateways in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
MAHB Group CEO Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh said the company was also looking at reformulating its strategies on revenue, while managing its expenses.
“MAHB is committed to ensuring the safety of passengers and the airport community. So we will continue to contain the spread and effects of Covid-19 by implementing the necessary safety measures.
“And in the wake of Covid-19’s impact on traditional revenue sources, there is a need for airports globally to reformulate strategy and to devise innovative approaches in diversifying revenue streams and trimming down expenses,” he said, in a statement on MAHB’s performance for the first half of the year (1H2020).
He added that MAHB was on track to reduce its operating cost by as much as 20% with several measures in place.
“This includes consolidation of underutilised terminal areas, revision of maintenance schedules as well as the deferment of non-critical maintenance capital expenditure.
“We have also embarked on other revenue streams such as our recent Airport Staycation by Sama-Sama Hotel and the recent launch of the KLIA Crazy Sale, both of which were very well received by the public,” Mohd Shukrie said.
He was referring to MAHB’s Staycation promotion from Aug 29 to Aug 31, which was sold out in two days after it was announced.
On the operations for the first half of the year, the company said there were signs of improvement in terms of traffic movement.
“This has especially been the case with the domestic sector, since the lifting of the inter-state travel ban following the enforcement of the recovery movement control order (RMCO).
“As a result, airlines are now allowed to operate up to full capacity serving predominantly domestic passengers,” MAHB said.
The company said it welcomed the tourism, arts and culture ministry’s domestic tourism recovery programme aimed at reviving the industry, promoting local attractions and the country as a safe tourism destination.
“Coupled with other initiatives by the government, such as Reciprocal Green Lane and ongoing discussions on the formation of travel bubbles with other cities or regions, these efforts point in the direction of traffic recovery, with domestic and regional travel likely to be the first to bounce back,” MAHB said.
According to MAHB, passenger traffic for its Malaysia operations declined by 62.4% to 19.2 million passengers in 1H2020.
KL International Airport (KLIA) recorded a 63.8% reduction in passenger traffic to 11.0 million passengers for the same period while other airports in Malaysia recorded an aggregate decline of 60.4% to 8.2 million passengers.
MAHB’s group revenue for 1H2020 stood at RM1,206 million, 52% lower than the same period last year.
Source: freemalaysiatoday.com
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