He said Mavcom was expected to complete drafting proposals for airfares during festive seasons by June.

Mavcom had launched a study of the airfares after receiving complaints on the matter.

“The initial findings of the study showed that airfares went up by as much as 4.7-fold within two days of a festival,” Aziz told the Dewan Rakyat today.

He was replying to Oscar Ling (DAP-Sibu) who expressed disappointment that the government had failed to control airfares for routes from Kuala Lumpur to Sabah and Sarawak.

He also wanted the government to fix a rate for voters to return from the peninsula to vote in Sabah and Sarawak in the 14th general election.

“If the fares are too expensive, not many voters will be able to return to the two states to vote,” he said.

Aziz said the ministry did not control airfares and advised travellers to book their tickets early if they wished to return home to celebrate a festival.

“The dates of festivals are known, so they should not wait until the last one or two days before their intended flight to buy their tickets, which would definitely cost them more.

“Plan your journey early if you don’t want to pay more.”