Thursday, December 17, 2015

MAHB welcomes more airlines to operate, add frequency in KLIA

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB), the world's second busiest airport operator group in terms of passengers handled, welcomes more international airlines to operate at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

"We still have the capacity (for them to operate here)," said Managing Director Datuk Badlisham Ghazali, in an exclusive interview with the News Straits Times published Wednesday.

Badlisham, who joined the management in June last year, said MAHB also welcomed more frequencies from the existing operators in Malaysia's main international airport and one of the major airports of South-East Asia.

"Emirates is doing four times daily. They will bring back the A380 to Kuala Lumpur (KUL)... Qatar Airways has increased its frequencies to KUL to 24 weekly flights, four daily.

"Air China is four times weekly. The new airlines we welcome is co-owned Shanghai and Hainan airlines (four times weekly). These are the frequencies that we welcomed back ... not all of them are new airlines. Intra-Asia traffic is big," he said.

For other airlines in KLIA, Badlisham said, China Southern operated 10 times weekly, both Bangkok Airways and Jetstar Asia (four times weekly) and Xiamen Airlines and Saudi Arabian Airlines (three times weekly).

"Oman Air, British Airways and All Nippon Airways run daily," he said.

He hoped the Turkish Airlines, which moved from seven times to 10 times weekly, would increase its frequencies to twice daily, making up to 14 times a week.

Badlisham said MAHB has participated in global conference, Routes, a platform where airlines talked about scheduling, to encourage other airlines to come and operate in KLIA.

MAHB is listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd.

It currently manages and operates 39 airports in Malaysia -- five international, 16 domestic and 18 short take-off and landing ports; and one international airport in Istanbul, Turkey.

The airport operator also provides airport management and technical services for the development, operation, maintenance and management in overseas international airports.

Source: Bernama | 16 Dec 2015

No comments:

Post a Comment