KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd’s (MAHB) airport network handled 4.66 million passenger movements in February 2022, up 186.2% from 1.69 million a year ago.

       Malaysia and Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (SGIA) in Istanbul recorded 2.5 million and 2.1 million passenger movements, respectively with both operations equally contributing to the February 2022 growth.

       “It is encouraging to note that there was an uptick in Malaysia and Istanbul SGIA daily traffic passenger movements for February 2022 compared to January 2022, indicating traffic regaining momentum after a temporary setback due to the re-imposition of travel restrictions following the recent wave of Omicron,” MAHB said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.

       On a last trailing twelve-month basis, the total MAHB network of airports recorded a 61.5% growth, with 41.8 million passenger movements.

       The airport operator said Singapore's move in adding more Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTL) with other countries and the recent reopening of borders without quarantine for vaccinated holders by Thailand and Australia, has set precedence for other countries, particularly in the Asia Pacific to lay plans to return to normality, lifting health measures and travel restrictions.

       “Malaysia’s transitioning to an endemic phase with international borders to reopen from April 1 is a positive development that would facilitate international traffic recovery.

       “MAHB’s airports are ready to receive international passengers with safety protocols in place while ensuring passenger experiences are smooth,” it said.

       MAHB said traffic would likely recover steadily over the next few months as more countries reopen borders in line with higher vaccination rates in the region and gain further traction from the second half of 2022.

       The airport operator noted that the general closure of Ukraine and Russia’s air space following the Ukraine-Russia conflict had temporarily disrupted flights between Istanbul SGIA, Ukraine and Russia (Moscow and St Petersburg).

       “As for Asia Pacific, the air space closure has propelled airlines to reroute flights to Europe, adding flight time and increasing fuel consumption and cost.

       “MAHB is closely monitoring the ongoing developments in Ukraine along with the rising jet fuel prices, and would continue assessing the impact to the group’s international traffic,” it said.

       In tandem with the growth in passenger movements in Malaysia, MAHB recorded a total of 50,043 aircraft movements in February, a 135% increase from a year ago.