International AirAsia flights to S’kan and Tawau early next year

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s east coast will get a tourism boost from international direct flights by low-cost carrier AirAsia, expected to start early next year.

AirAsia Group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes (pic) said he is working to bring flights into Sandakan and Tawau from cities in China, Korea, Japan and other Asean states, beginning in January or February.

“We want to bring growth there. We want to launch it during the winter season so we can promote Sabah’s beautiful beaches to them,” he told reporters after paying a courtesy call on Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal Friday.

Fernandes said he is confident of the potential of the two coastal cities, but added that he will visit Tawau Friday to see for himself.

SPONSORED CONTENT

Sabah revenue hits RM6.97 billion: Hajiji says GRS State Government may see full term

Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Government continued its momentum in managing the economy in line with the commitment and spirit of the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) when it posted record high state revenue of RM6.973 billion last year.

Sandakan is the main gateway to wildlife attractions like Sungai Kinabatangan and Turtle Islands Park, while Tawau is in close proximity to Semporna town, which is the jump off to islands such as Sipadan and Mabul, plus a dozen other smaller islands.

Fernandes said the State Capital will still be the main hub, adding that the Kota Kinabalu International Airport will get a new AirAsia flight direct to Seoul next August.

Apart from developing Tawau, Sandakan and Kota Kinabalu, Fernandes said AirAsia also wants to develop Sarawak as there are a lot of tourism potentials like in Kuching, Miri and Sibu.

On promoting Sabah-made products in AirAsia Group’s e-commerce site, he said AirAsia is about allowing everyone to fly, so its shop is about allowing everyone to sell.

“It doesn’t have to be big brands like Sony, Samsung and so on. Anyone who has a good product to sell can do so through our database, which is huge. We also help in terms of online payment services and logistics because obviously we can ship goods to anywhere around the world without cargo operation,” he said.

He said apart from that, they will also help to promote the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC).

“We are going to look at the Layang Layang Flying Academy here to see whether we can help the school to create more pilots for us. We are not sure whether it is up to standard yet but we are going to support and help it,” he said.

Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.

Daily Express Malaysia

Fernandes also thanked the Federal Government for reducing the airport tax to RM50, which has helped boost AirAsia’s business.

“We are the only airline that has taken advantage of that. I don’t understand why the other airlines haven’t, but that is fine, it is up to them. We have seen our business increased dramatically since the airport has tax gone down,” he said.

Try 1 month for RM 18.00

Try 1 month for RM 18.00

Try 1 month for RM 18.00