Malaysia’s CAT1 IASA Rating Reinstatement And Re-Election To The ICAO Council Improves National Aviation Outlook

Company Kuala Lumpur International Airport
Date 24.10.2022

The recent reinstatement of Malaysia’s International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) rating to Category (Cat1) and its re-election to the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) Council has played a role in enhancing the airport’s global network connectivity.

Recently, KL International Airport (KUL) saw the return of Kuwait Airways (KU) after a seven-year hiatus. KU currently flies the Kuwait (KWI) – KUL route 2x weekly and will increase it to 3x weekly in November. Later in the month, two other foreign carriers i.e., KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL) and All Nippon Airways (NH) will resume non-stop flight operations at KUL after temporarily ceasing operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. KL will be operating 4x weekly Amsterdam (AMS) – KUL flights, a transition from the current AMS-Singapore-KUL routing, whereas NH will be flying 3x weekly to KUL from Tokyo-Haneda (HND), its second route other than the current Tokyo-Narita (NRT) – KUL operation. Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines (TK) has increased its weekly flight frequencies for its Istanbul (IST) – KUL route from 7x to 10x.

Managing Director of Malaysia Airports, Dato’ Iskandar Mizal Mahmood said the outlook for the national aviation industry is improving day by day, “Industry players are working very closely with the government to ensure that we receive about 10 million international tourists by year-end. The government has implemented several initiatives to support this aim such as the DE Rantau Nomad Pass which will enhance and promote more mobility among digital professionals and their spouses into the country. Another initiative is the new Malaysia Premium Visa Programme aimed at attracting high net-worth individuals. Both these programmes are anticipated to boost passenger movements.”

For September 2022, the Malaysia Airports Group (the Group) registered a total of 8.2 million passenger movements for both its Malaysia and Turkiye operations, increasing by 155.8% year-on-year (YoY). For its Malaysia operations, the Group recorded a total of 5.3 million passenger movements (Int: 1,925,726 / Dom: 3,392,375) at its local network of airports. Meanwhile, Malaysia’s international passenger movements for September year-to-date (YTD) was recorded at 9,271,272, a YoY increase of 1104.9% attributed to the active service resumption by foreign carriers.

Passenger traffic movements at Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (SAW) represented 35.2% of the total Group operations or 2.9 million (Int: 1,511,300/ Dom: 1,371,851). SAW recently celebrated the opening of the city’s newest metro line that links the airport to Pendik (Tavşantepe) station in downtown İstanbul. This new transportation facility will provide further travelling convenience to passengers and will strengthen SAW’s position as the second busiest hub in Turkiye.

Contact

Kuala Lumpur International Airport
64000 Sepang
Selangor
Malaysia
  • +60 3-8776 2000