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KOTA KINABALU – Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin described the move by local airline companies to increase flight fares during the festive season, especially to Sabah and Sarawak, as bloodsucking, or “hisap darah”.
He said that even though Muslims will be celebrating Hari Raya Aidilfitri in a few weeks, and Sabahans in the peninsula will want to return home, many will sadly have to cancel their plans due to the soaring airfares.
“Imagine a one-way economy flight ticket selling at RM2,800, going as high as RM3,600...this sort of thing should not be happening, the airlines cannot overcharge passengers unfairly.
“The people of Sabah are baffled by this…the Transport Ministry must intervene and address this issue immediately,” he said in a statement today.
In addition, he said some airlines have made it a condition that all passengers check in through self-service kiosks, charging a fee of RM100 to passengers who check in through the counter, which is not fair to the non-tech savvy.
“Airline companies must understand that in Sabah, many still do not own smartphones and some village folks hardly know how these check-in kiosks work,” he said.
Earlier, Bernama reported that local airlines providing flights from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu and Kuching had been offering tickets ranging up to RM300 for return flights during non-festive seasons.
However, a check on their websites now show prices skyrocketing up to RM2,000 (return flights), an increase of around 566% for the April 29-May 8 festive period.
Yesterday, Chief Minister Datuk Hajiji Mohd Noor was reported to have urged the federal government through the Transport Ministry to find a way to reduce the price of the flight tickets. – Bernama, April 14, 2022