While welcoming the additional flights for the festive season, he concurred with Transport Minister Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin that Sarawak needs more flights for the high-demand route.

“Despite some improvements since Transport Minister (Anthony Loke) announced fix rate flight tickets, we can still see that the ticket prices are relatively expensive, especially when the dates are near,” he said.

The Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sarawak Youth chief said although he does not have exact details on the increased number of flights or seats available, checks on airfares show higher prices during this period.

He said from the airline industry’s pricing mechanism point of view, the only way to reduce airfares is by introducing more supply in the market.

On Dec 28, AirAsia announced one-way fixed fares from the peninsula to Sarawak at RM199 and to Sabah at RM249.

On Jan 16, Lee said AirAsia, Malaysia Airlines, and Firefly would provide 71 additional flights per day from the peninsula to Sarawak between Jan 18 and 21 to allow Sarawakians to return home in time for Chinese New Year.

With Malaysians having their first restriction-free Chinese New Year since 2020, Chiew also urged constituents to exercise care.

“We will all celebrate like pre-Covid era, but still we would like to advise that Covid is still around and some countries have experienced a spike in the number of positive cases,” he said.

He added it is vital to continue to maintain basic precaution methods such as wearing a mask in a crowded indoor environment and to wash hands frequently.

The Miri MP also appealed for greater vigilance on the road.