It said the additional routes were disclosed by Firefly chief executive officer (CEO) Phillip See  during a meeting here today between its minister Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin with Malaysia Airlines Berhad and Firefly representatives on future plans to have more flights within Sarawak.

“CEO of Firefly, Philip See, has mentioned that they have planned two new routes for Sarawak which are Kuching-Miri and Kuching-Kota Kinabalu starting quarter 2, 2023,” the statement said.

While lauding the move, the ministry also said that he had suggested Firefly to add another new route to Penang from Miri given the lack of direct flights.

According to the statement, a few years ago, there were direct flights from Miri to Penang by another airline.

“We hope that with the additional airline operating the routes, it will create choices of flight availability, reasonable flight fare and attract more passengers to travel within and to Sarawak,” it said.

According to the ministry again, Firefly currently operates one route in Sarawak, Penang-Kuching routes on a daily basis.

“The main purpose of this meeting was for Firefly to brief and discuss their future plans in Sarawak with the Minister. Firefly, the low-cost arm of Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), is currently operating the Penang-Kuching route with the frequency of 14 flights weekly,” the statement added.

In thanking Firefly, the ministry also requested the airline to look into more opportunities for Sarawak, especially to have international  direct flights.

“The minister also requested Firefly to include Sarawak in their future domestic and international routes expansion plan.

“Other matters that were discussed include the potential new routes to or within Sarawak, flight frequency, airfare and exploring potential areas of collaboration with local business players in the travel and leisure industry.

“We would like to thank the CEO and management of FlyFirefly Sdn Bhd for the confidence, support and working closely with the Ministry of Transport, Sarawak,” said the ministry.

Also present during the meeting were Sarawak Ministry of Transport Acting Permanent Secretary Julin Alen, and other ministry officials.