Minister: Firefly to fly Penang-Kuching daily from April 11
KUCHING: Firefly Airlines (Firefly) will finally operate the Penang-Kuching route on a daily basis starting April 11, said Transport Minister Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin.
He said Firefly was originally set to operate this route on Nov 1 last year with twice weekly flights, but this was delayed due to some technical issues involving the number of incoming flights to Sarawak then.
Following the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee’s (SDMC) decision to increase all incoming flights to Sarawak, he said Firefly Sdn Bhd asked for the return of the Penang-Kuching route and it was approved by the committee on Feb 4 this year.
“For these reasons, we would like to thank Firefly management team led by chief executive officer Phillip See for being able to make the necessary arrangements on the inaugural flight from Penang to Kuching. I hope this will be another milestone for the airlines in Sarawak.
“Currently, the only airlines operating the Penang-Kuching route is AirAsia Berhad with 14 flights weekly and we hope with two airlines operating the route, it will create more varieties, availability and choices of flight; reasonable flight fares; and attract more passengers, especially from the north of Peninsular Malaysia coming to Sarawak,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Lee added that the Firefly Penang-Kuching flight operation is on a daily basis or one time daily, arriving at 4.10pm in Kuching and departing to Penang at 4.40pm the same day.
To purchase flight tickets, travellers can visit their website at www.fireflyz.com.my or through travel agents.
“We trust this initiative will be the beginning of stronger relations between FlyFirefly Sdn Bhd and Sarawak, thus boosting air connectivity for more business, investment and tourism activities between other states in Malaysia and Sarawak,” Lee added.
On a related matter, Lee said with borders reopening in Malaysia, various travellers can finally travel to Sarawak where fully-vaccinated passengers can start to travel without quarantine.
“We believe there will be a substantial increase of people and cargo movement in the country, including Sarawak. We expect the number of travellers and visitors coming from various parts of Malaysia and overseas to Sarawak will gradually increase with the country’s transition to the endemic phase.
“Despite the reopening of our international borders, we would like to remind all passengers and travellers to continue to comply strictly with the standard operating procedures set by the National Security Council, Ministry of Health and SDMC to curb the spread of Covid-19,” he said.