Malaysia expresses pessimism over traffic recovery

The Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) has cut its passenger traffic projection for the year, citing the resurgence in coronavirus cases, as well as a general uncertainty surrounding recovery. In its latest forecast, MAVCOM says Malaysian passenger traffic for the year is expected to contract up to 29% year on year, translating to between 18.9 to 20.6m passengers. This compares to an earlier forecast — issued at the end of 2020 — which stated that traffic would rebound this year, to between 51.7 and 53.3m passengers. The agency notes that in the first three months of the year, only 1.7m passengers flew, representing a 91% decline year on year. This, says MAVCOM, “could signal significantly lower passenger traffic numbers for the rest of the year”. It expects air travel demand to be impacted for the rest of year, especially as Malaysia battles a fresh surge in coronavirus cases, prompting the federal government to impose domestic travel restrictions.<br/>