MALAYSIA. Malaysia Airports (MAHB) has released its annual traffic report, citing a strong recovery in the final quarter of 2021. But it said that passenger numbers are unlikely to reach even half of 2019 levels in the coming year.
The airports group cited a Malaysia Aviation Commission report issued in December, which stated that group passenger volumes in 2022 should hit a range between 32.6 million and 49 million, or 30% to 45% of 2019 levels. Growth will be driven mainly by domestic and ASEAN regional flights.
Malaysia Airports said in a statement: “Despite the ongoing uncertainties due to the new emergence of variants of concern, MAHB is cautiously optimistic in forecasting gradual traffic recovery in 2022.”
The company’s network of airports served just under 36.1 million passengers in 2021, a fall of -16% year-on-year. A like-for-like comparison from April to December versus the corresponding period in 2020 showed a rise of +43%. December 2021 saw the highest passenger volume recorded in any month since February 2020, at 5.3 million.
Malaysia Airports also highlighted the different pace of recovery in Malaysia and in Turkey, where it owns and operates Istanbul Sabiha Gökcen International.
In Istanbul, passenger numbers grew by +47.4% in 2021, reaching 25.4 million, representing 71.5% of 2019 passenger volumes. Sabiha Gökcen was ranked in the top ten airports by passenger traffic in Europe as measured by ACI Europe (as of September 2021).
In December and Q4, traffic growth in Malaysia gained momentum following a relaxation of travel rules in the country.
The introduction of the Langkawi ‘travel bubble’ from 16 September with more relaxed travel rules helped prompt demand, as did relaxation of the inter-state travel ban on 11 October. The resumption of traffic saw load factors hit 50-60% straight away, said the company. In 2021, the top five international destinations from Malaysia were Singapore, Dubai, Jakarta, Doha and Dhaka.
