Malaysia Airlines is expecting a revival of domestic travel in the fourth quarter of this year. The airline group's Chief Operating Officer spoke on the status of his airline and its future prospects during an online conference on August 26th. Malaysia has been dealing with a significant outbreak of COVID-19 and has implemented tight restrictions for heavily affected areas.

Domestic flight restart expected for Q4

Speaking at a Virtual Airline101 session hosted by Malaysia Airlines and the Civil Aviation Authority Malaysia (CAAM) on Thursday, Group COO Ahmad Luqman Mohd Azmi said that his airline expects the domestic aviation industry to restart in fourth quarter of 2021. For most companies, the fourth quarter (Q4) begins on October 1st.

The Sun Daily also notes that Malaysia Airlines expects to return to pre-pandemic levels around the end of 2022 and is hoping for international market recovery around mid-2023 or 2024.

First A350 XWB delivery to Malaysia Airlines
For its long-haul operations, Malaysia Airlines deploys the Airbus A330 and A350. Photo: Airbus

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Malaysia's current restrictions

According to Malaysia's tourism website, several states were put under Phase 1 of the country's NRP (National Recovery Plan) as of August 16th. This includes the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and states of Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Johor and Kedah.

Under this lockdown, cross-district travel and intrastate tourism are not permitted. Additionally, activities are restricted to those deemed essential, with exceptions being made for "hair salons and shops selling electrical goods, furniture, sporting equipment and car accessories."

The New Straits Times reports that cross-district and state travel exemptions have been provided for "long-distance couples, visiting children under 18 years old and individuals who have been approved to travel by the Health Ministry and police."

Phase 2 of the NRP will allow for cross-district travel and intrastate tourism "involving hotels and homestays, including dine-ins at restaurants."

"Currently, states of Perak, Pahang, Kelantan, Terengganu and Sabah are in Phase 2 of NRP, while Perlis, Sarawak and the Federal Territory of Labuan are in Phase 3. The third phase sees most sectors of the economy operating with some curbs on social sectors remain." -Tourism Malaysia

malaysia destinations

Malaysia Airlines' hit hard by restrictions

Like most airlines across the globe, Malaysia Airlines had been hard hit by COVID-19 travel restrictions. Ahmad Luqman reported that his airline's operations had been reduced significantly when compared to 2019:

“Eight out of nine major daily operations are on a declining trend except for cargo shipments that grew 12% to 730,000 shipments from 1,100 in 2019.

“Other daily operations including passengers served down 97% to 1,000 from 38,000; flights coordinated down 95% from 290 to 15,” -Ahmad Luqman Mohd Azmi, Chief Operating Officer, Malaysia Airlines Group via The Sun Daily

With vaccination efforts offering hope of a gradual recovery, the hope of an October recovery should be a fairly safe bet.

What do you think? Will Malaysia's domestic air travel market see a revival in the next two months? Let us know in the comments.