The airport operator said the total passenger movements for the network of airports was driven by the international sector, which registered 4.9 million passengers and sustained a monthly recovery rate above 89.5% over 2019 levels since July 2023.

“The domestic sector trailed at 4.6 million passenger movements, reaching 77.6% of 2019 levels, partly due to airlines expansions to the international sector and the unexpected decline in domestic capacity from mid-October,” it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.

MAHB said the international and domestic sectors depicted 2019 trends at 52% and 48% market share although traffic is still recovering.

“International and domestic passenger movements registered 3.4 million and 3.2 million passengers, an increase of 51.8% and 8.8% over November 2022 respectively,” it said.

MAHB said the continuous traffic growth in November was partly due to the introduction of four new services from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport to the United Arab Emirates.

“These services include four weekly flights by Batik Air Malaysia, along with Raja Sansi and Thiruvananthapuram with twice weekly flights by Malaysia Airlines.

“Firefly commenced five weekly flights to Don Mueang from Penang International Airport,” it stated.

Meanwhile, the airport operator said Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (SGIA) recorded close to three million passenger movements in November 2023, superseding 2019 at 3.5%.

“International and domestic passenger movements were almost equal registering 1.5 million and 1.4 million passengers amidst the off-peak travel season and the temporary suspension of seven daily flights to Tel Aviv,” it added.

By the close of trade, MAHB’s share price was down by 1 sen or 0.14% at RM7.34, giving it a market capitalisation of RM12.25 billion.