MALAYSIA. Malaysia Airports has said it expects an easing of travel restrictions close to the end of 2021 amid the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines in Malaysia. The vaccination programme is at an early stage in the country.
Malaysia Airports Group CEO Dato’ Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh said: “One of the main drivers for aviation recovery would be the speed of reaching herd immunity. As we have observed in the UK, there is an inverse relationship between the inoculation rate and the infection rate. Our government’s laudable efforts to boost the vaccination rate by procuring more vaccines will help Malaysia achieve herd immunity by year end and this can pave the way for faster recovery.”
The company added in a statement: “In Malaysia, traffic revival is projected to begin with domestic travel and travellers within the region with the implementation of travel bubbles in the future.”
The company also operates Istanbul Sabiha Gökcen International Airport in Turkey. There, the company noted that “public immunity” should be achieved by the end of September, with 27.9 million doses administered to date, and with more than 11.9 million people having received a second dose.
Malaysia Airports reported RM149.2 million (US$36.1 million) in non-aeronautical revenues for the first quarter of 2021, down by -60.3% year-on-year. Retail sales fell by -90.5%. Under a new rental model put in place this year, retail and F&B tenants at the group’s Malaysian airports pay rent based on passenger movements rather than minimum guarantees.
Group passenger traffic fell by -76.9% to 5.9 million in the first three months, with Malaysian airport traffic down by -91% and Turkish volumes down by -40%.
Total group revenue reached RM336.9 million (US$81.5 million), a contraction of -63.9% year-on-year with a loss after tax of RM221.3 million (US$53.5 million) compared to a loss of RM20.4 million a year ago.
At Istanbul Sabiha Gökcen International Airport, recovery continued in Q1 with passenger traffic of 4.2 million – a favourable comparison to the average 1.3 million per month over the past year. Duty free rental income fell by -63.9% to €4.2 million with non-aeronautical revenues falling by -43% to €11.4 million.
