MALAYSIA Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) said its network registered 9.6 million passenger movements in November, reaching 83.3% over pre-pandemic levels.

The operator said total passenger movements across its airport network were driven by the international sector, registering 4.9 million passengers and sustaining a monthly recovery rate of above 89.5% over 2019 levels since July.

“The domestic sector trailed at 4.6 million passenger movements, reaching 77.6% of 2019 levels, partly due to airlines’ expansions to the international sector and the unexpected decline in domestic capacity from mid-October,” it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today.

It said the international and domestic sectors depicted 2019 trends at 52% and 48% market share, although traffic was still recovering.

“International and domestic passenger movements registered 3.4 million and 3.2 million passengers, an increase of 51.8% and 8.8% over November 2022,” it said.

MAHB said continuous traffic growth in November was partly due to the introduction of new services from KLIA to the United Arab Emirates with four weekly flights by Batik Air Malaysia, and Raja Sansi and Thiruvananthapuram with two flights a week by Malaysia Airlines.

It said Firefly commenced five weekly flights to Don Mueang from Penang International Airport.

The airport operator said Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport recorded close to three million passenger movements in November, superseding 2019 rates by 3.5%.

“International and domestic passenger movements were almost equal at 1.5 million and 1.4 million passengers amid the off-peak season and the temporary suspension of seven daily flights to Tel Aviv,” it said. – Bernama, December 26, 2023.