THE Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) today said air passenger traffic is expected to grow by 316-525% to between 32.6 million and 49 million travellers in 2022.

This would mark a 30-45% return to the pre-pandemic air passenger traffic levels of 2019, the regulator said in a statement in conjunction with the release of its industry report, Waypoint.

“Additionally, airlines are expected to gradually expand seat capacity as pent-up travel demand and accrued savings drive passenger traffic growth in 2022,” it said.

The Waypoint report outlines the performance of the Malaysian aviation sector in the third quarter of 2021.

In the report, Mavcom indicated early signs of recovery for the local aviation sector in September and October 2021, which recorded air passenger traffic growth of 56.6% and 190.2% month-on-month, respectively.

Executive chairman Saripuddin Kasim said total air passenger traffic for 2021 is expected to be closer to Mavcom’s best-case scenario forecast of 6.9 million to 7.8 million air travel passengers.

He noted that the easing of travel restrictions, travel bubbles, the reopening of international borders in light of Malaysia’s rapid vaccination rollout, as well as the recent vaccinated travel lane to Singapore, have contributed to the recovery.

These initiatives have allowed tourism activities to restart with early indications pointing towards a positive outlook for Malaysia’s air passenger traffic in 2022, he said.

“The Malaysian aviation sector’s journey to full recovery is still far from over.

“Aviation industry players may still face significant challenges ahead with the rise in Brent crude oil and jet fuel prices that could impact operational costs, as well as possible outbreaks of new Covid-19 variants, including the fast-spreading Omicron variant.

“However, we remain hopeful that the industry will continue to make progress, particularly as the Malaysian government considers reopening mutual borders with several countries,” he added.

On air cargo, Saripuddin said demand remains resilient, reflected by a substantial growth of 19.7% in total freight tonne kilometres (FTK) during the third quarter of 2021.

“The commission expects air cargo to remain vital to the industry for the remainder of 2021 and in 2022,” he said.

For 2022, air cargo traffic is projected to grow by between 3.9% and 6.7% which translates into 20.8 billion to 21.6 billion FTK, underpinned by the progress of vaccination programmes, strong growth of e-commerce, electrical and electronics as well as demand from Malaysia’s main trading partners, he added. – Bernama, December 9, 2021.