MAG managing director Izham Ismail said these disruptions were caused by factors like bad weather, technical issues, manpower challenges, supply chain constraints and delayed aircraft deliveries.

Izham also acknowledged that these issues had snowballed into a series of disruptions, impacting flight schedules of both airlines.

“We understand the significant inconvenience these disruptions have caused. We want to assure our customers that we are taking immediate steps to address the root causes of these issues.

“Flight retiming caused by technical delays usually creates a domino effect lasting several days or weeks, depending on the availability of spare aircraft for an airline.

“Safety remains our absolute priority.

“The decisions made to delay or cancel flights are never taken lightly and are always made with the safety of our passengers and crew in mind,” he said in a statement.

Izham added MAG is working on restoring normal operations as soon as possible and thanked customers for their patience.

Yesterday, businessman Yusuf Taiyoob complained to FMT about a series of delays affecting his Firefly flight from Subang’s Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport to Penang.

Yusuf, a frequent business traveller, said Firefly’s so-called “retiming” of flights had been recurring often lately with no explanation being offered by the airline.

Checks on social media showed that rescheduled Firefly flights were not limited to the Subang-Penang route and have affected many other travellers as well.

Three days ago, Malaysia Airlines apologised over a prolonged delay of flight MH165 from Doha, Qatar, to Kuala Lumpur, citing issues related to the aircraft’s engine.

A traveller had taken to social media to complain that some codeshare passengers en route to Kuala Lumpur with Malaysia Airlines were stranded at Qatar’s Hamad International Airport for more than 24 hours.