According to the third edition of the Malaysian Aviation Commission’s (Mavcom) Industry Report, “Waypoint”, the low single-digit growth was due to a reduction in domestic capacity by Malaysian carriers.

“At the same time, growth in international traffic is expected to surpass domestic traffic growth for the third consecutive year.

“The recently released industry report features the commission’s outlook on the industry, a macro overview of the sector, an analysis on industry structure and performance, as well as a review of the ground handling services segment in Malaysia,” Mavcom executive chairman Nungsari Ahmad Radhi said in a statement today.

He said the Waypoint Industry report was part of the commission’s overall commitment as the economic and commercial regulator for the sector, aimed at creating a more robust aviation industry in Malaysia by fostering a deeper understanding of the sector as a whole.

Malaysia recorded 50.3 million international and domestic passengers in the first half of 2018 with growth weaker than Mavcom’s initial forecast of 6.5% to 7%.

Passenger traffic growth was primarily driven by international traffic for the first half of 2018 as Malaysian carriers increased international seat capacity by 8.8%.

At the same time, domestic seat capacity decreased by 4.0% as a result of route network rationalisation exercises by two Malaysian carriers which slashed their total domestic capacity by 28.1%.

Passenger traffic growth in 2019 is forecast to hover between 2.2% and 3.3%, supported by private consumption and potentially lower airfares as airlines shift their route network focus to short- and medium-haul destinations instead of long-haul destinations.