The Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) said Monday that Malaysia’s air passenger traffic surged 123.6 percent year on year to 19.4 million passengers in the first quarter.
The aviation industry regulator said in a statement that the total passenger traffic is equivalent to 73 percent of the pre-pandemic passenger traffic in the first quarter of 2019.
The main driver of passenger traffic in the first quarter continues to be domestic travel, accounting for 56.4 percent of the total passengers.
According to MAVCOM, since the reopening of travel borders in the fourth quarter of 2022, Malaysia’s passenger traffic has grown at an average of 23.2 percent quarter on quarter.
Following the full reopening of international borders, international passenger traffic in the country has also grown at an average of 80.9 percent quarter on quarter.
With a robust passenger traffic performance in the first few months of 2023, MAVCOM maintained its December 2022 air passenger traffic forecast for 2023.
The commission expects air passenger traffic to rise between 40 percent and 52 percent year on year in 2023, reaching between 74.6 million and 80.8 million passengers.
This forecast assumes a steady industry recovery, with routes to key international and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) markets gradually being restored.
International passenger traffic is expected to experience a significant recovery in 2023, while domestic and ASEAN passenger traffic is seen to remain resilient and steadily increase.
MAVCOM’s 2023 passenger traffic forecast ranges from 68 percent to 74 percent of the 2019 passenger traffic level.