75 pct seats for AirAsia’s maiden Sibu-Singapore flight already sold

SIBU: Demand for AirAsia’s maiden Sibu-Singapore direct flight on Dec 16 has already hit 75 per cent capacity, said AirAsia Airline Communication and Sarawak Affairs head Hamdan Mohamad.

He said it is likely all seats would be taken up soon.

“This augurs well to promote the development of tourism, not only in the central region, but in Sarawak as a whole and, hopefully, we will be able to see goods results in time to come,” he said during a dialogue with the Sibu Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) yesterday.

Hamdan said the launching of the direct flights will also boost the Sarawak Fair in Singapore from Dec 21-27.

“The availability of the direct flights will allow more people from the central region to travel to Singapore to attend the fair,” he said.

SCCI president Datuk Lau Cheng Kiong said the chamber welcomed the news of the direct flight with open arms but called for controls on airfares.

“Many people here are working or have business connections in

Singapore, be they businessmen, students, or travellers and it is hoped that the airfares will be maintained at a reasonable level,” he said.

Lau said having a direct flight and reasonable airfares would attract more investors to come to Sarawak.

“In fact, we have been lobbying for the Sibu-Singapore direct flight since 2019 and we are glad that it has finally materialised,” he added.

He said travellers from Sibu would no longer need to fear missing connecting flights to Singapore.

Lau also reminded businesses to make good use of the availability of the direct flights to ensure they can be sustained.

Minister for Transport Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin recently said AirAsia Berhad would be operating a four times weekly direct service between Sibu and Singapore.

The flights on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday are scheduled to depart Sibu for Singapore at 1.40pm, while the flight from Singapore to Sibu is set to depart at 4pm.