Sibu: The long-term solution to high airfares is not through setting price ceilings, but by increasing flight frequency and market development to encourage greater airline participation in the market, stressed Sibu MP, Oscar Ling Chai Yew.
He said excessive market intervention would discourage airlines and reduce overall competitiveness, ultimately worsening connectivity and pricing in the long run.
Oscar questioned Wong Ching Yong, the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Dudong branch Chairman, on whether policies that have been identified as problematic should be left unchanged or corrected.
“After 2018, when the Democratic Action Party (DAP) came into power, the Ministry of Transport actively studied the idea of setting airfare caps.
“They found that direct government intervention through price ceilings could not solve the issue. In fact, cheaper tickets might be raised to the capped level to ensure flights remain profitable, and in severe cases, this could even lead to flight cancellations,” said Oscar in a statement.
He also drew parallels with previous price control measures on essential goods such as eggs, saying that when price ceilings were imposed during price surges, production fell as farmers reduced output to avoid losses, eventually causing shortages until market forces restored supply.
On current government efforts, Oscar said the federal Ministry of Transport is focusing on ensuring reasonable airfare levels during festive seasons, while relying on market competition to regulate prices during off-peak periods.
He also highlighted the challenges of rural air connectivity in Sarawak, noting that many routes are not commercially viable due to low passenger demand.
“To address this, the federal government has implemented the Rural Air Services (RAS) programme, providing an annual subsidy of RM200 million to support essential routes in Borneo, previously managed by MASwings.
“Measures such as increasing flight frequency during festive seasons and arranging fixed-price charter flights have also helped ease the burden of high airfares during peak travel periods,” he added.
Oscar further urged Wong to clarify when the proposed Borneo airline, reportedly established with Sarawak taxpayers’ funds, will begin direct Kuching–Sibu services, and how it plans to deliver more affordable fares for the people of Sarawak.
