Deputy Transport Minister Abdul Aziz Kaprawi said Malindo helped fill the void left by Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB), which had reduced its operations, laid off some 6,000 of its workers, and terminated several routes as well as cooperation with several international airlines.
He said that Malindo Air, along with Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia, were all Malaysian flag carriers.
“To fill the void left by MAS, other international airlines had to find other alternatives to ensure seamless travel.
“They had to find other local airlines to fill the vacuum left by MAS. To save the situation then, Malindo agreed to fill that vacuum,” he said in the Dewan Rakyat today.
To a supplementary question by Abd Latiff Ahmad (BN-Mersing), on why Malaysia Airlines was not given the opportunity to operate exclusively at KLIA, until its financial standing improves, he said KLIA was an international terminal, with 50 international airlines using it as their operations hub.
Aziz also said that Malindo Air was a full-service carrier (FSC), where food, baggage services and inflight entertainment are all covered in the price of its flight ticket.
He said the airline also provides interlining services (also known as interline ticketing and interline booking) with other international airlines at KLIA, which ensures seamless travel for passengers to get to their final destinations.
“The government wants to turn KLIA into a transit hub. We want sustainability. Malindo Air’s move to KLIA helped save KLIA’s position as a transit hub.
“If there are no interlining services, then passengers will instead opt to transit in Singapore and Bangkok before heading off to other destinations.
“We have to look at the industry holistically. We cannot just look at MAB, as the airline is currently facing constraints, and they cannot meet the needs,” he said.