AIRPORT CEO SPEAKS

 

Airport CEO

A leading corporate leader with strong financial background and extensive experience in various fields, he is currently steering Malaysia Airports to greater heights.

This month, Raja Azmi Raja Nazuddin reflects on the airport operator’s financial performance for the period ended 30 September 2019 (3Q 2019) and past achievements for the year and how it will strive to overcome the challenging global macro- economic environment and uncertainties ahead.


As a holistic global airport company managing Malaysia’s various aviation gateways and Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport, I am happy to share that our third quarter results have shown growth in many areas. Thanks to our sustained passengers and aircraft movements; these have been translated into higher revenue and earnings for the group.

Looking at the positive average passenger load factors registered in the third quarter, we are optimistic that our traffic forecast numbers for 2019 can be achieved as we expect to see further improvements in our international passenger movements, particularly coming from our regional international airports in Penang, Langkawi, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching. This is due to more direct connectivity been introduced by airlines such as Qatar Airways, Qingdao Airlines, Royal Brunei Airlines and Scoot.

Low-cost carrier Scoot’s maiden seven weekly flight from Singapore to Kota Kinabalu on 3 December 2019, for instance, has not only added to their growing presence in Malaysia but also augured well for our second busiest airport, Kota Kinabalu International Airport, which registered 23% increase in passenger movement for this sector to 220,561 from January to October compared to the previous corresponding period in 2018.

As for the Malaysian aviation industry, we remain upbeat. When IATA is reporting that the air cargo peak season is off to a slow start in October with annual demand down 3.5%, with the support from Pos Aviation Sdn Bhd, we have been having chartered freighter flying Malaysian fruits such as durian and pineapple to Zhengzhou, China since July.

These chartered flights carrying Malaysia pineapples since 14 November 2019, totalling 120 and scheduled for a year, are expected to export at least 2,000 tonnes of such fruit branded as ‘Cat King’ which is worth RM12 million. They represent the early manifestations of the capabilities of our Air Cargo & Logistics cluster. Covering 1.2 million sq ft of gross floor area, our facilities include a cargo terminal, sorting centre, warehouse, and operations office.

We will be handling another high traffic season this month in view of the Chinese New Year festivities, not too long after the recent November-December school holidays, Christmas and year-end celebrations. As always, we will deliver our utmost in ensuringour passengers’ smooth journey and enjoyable experience at our airport.

 

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram