‘Growing middle class, economic progress spur air travel demand’

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s growing middle-class population and economic progress are leading to steady growth in the demand for air travel.

Frost & Sullivan said the growth was also contributed to the rising trend of business and leisure traffic within Asean, bringing more passengers for the intra-Asean network in hubs such as Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), Changi, Suvarnabhumi, Soekarno Hatta and Ninoy Aquino airports.

It said self-connecting travellers built their own itineraries by connecting through these hubs when traveling to Northeast Asia, South Asia or further down to Australasia.

Frost & Sullivan associate director, aerospace and defence practice Amartya De said KLIA and klia2 were the most mature ecosystems as airport terminals in Malaysia.

“They are at the right threshold to explore the full benefits of digital transformation of airports while increasing efficiency, comfort and convenience, at the same time, delivering a unique experience,” he said in a statement yesterday.

A survey conducted by Frost & Sullivan on the importance of digitisation at airports among airport industry stakeholders globally revealed that airport digitisation was a key pillar in growth strategy and an important programme at the airports.

Frost & Sullivan estimated that the total air passenger traffic across all Malaysian airports to reach more than 250 million passengers by 2030.

To date, the country’s air traffic has crossed 100 million passengers this year.

He said airport operators had implemented new digital solutions to optimise their processes and enhance business and operation models in an effort to improve customer experience.

They are at the right threshold to explore the full benefits of digital transformation of airports, while increasing efficiency, comfort and convenience, at the same time, delivering a unique experience.