Loke said this increase primarily involved travellers from China and India, who are allowed to be in Malaysia for 30 days without  visas.

Loke also said the National Aviation Consultancy Council (NACC) had agreed to accelerate the integration of KLIA’s Terminal 1 and 2 to allow passengers to seamlessly transfer between both terminals without leaving the airport or collecting their bags.

“What we mean by the integration of Terminal 1 and 2 is that there should be a link between the two terminals. Even though we have two terminals, they are like two different airports,” he said after chairing a meeting of the council.

He said all major airlines supported the integration, which has become among Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd’s top priorities.

“This is an important effort to further bolster KLIA as a flight hub,” he said.

Loke also said the new Kota Bharu airport was expected to be completed by next February, with the expansion of the airports in Tawau and Miri to commence after that.

“Improvements are also being made at the Kota Kinabalu, Ipoh and Subang airports,” he said.