Reports from Malaysia say that the Malaysian Government will negotiate with the Australian government for more landing rights to Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said on Wednesday, “The existing rights under the bilateral air agreement were currently used by national carrier, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and we are seeking an agreement from the Australian government to negotiate for more landing rights and are awaiting a response.”
Chan said Australian airlines had no problems flying to Malaysia as they had not utilized any of the landing rights under the existing agreement, adding, “Currently, no Australian airlines fly to Malaysia.
“However, Malaysia has utilized most of the landing rights to the four cities under the agreement, therefore, efforts are being made to ask for more landing rights to Australia.”
Chan was commenting on a Reuters report on Monday saying that Malaysia and Australia were in talks to open a low-cost air route between the two countries, spearheaded by Qantas-owned Jetstar and AirAsia Bhd.
Although Chan did not mention the reason for seeking additional landing rights, it is believed that it was related to AirAsia’s plan to fly to Australia.
Chan has told Reuters that AirAsia wanted to fly to Melbourne’s Avalon Airport, a low-cost hub for Jetstar and that Jetstar is likely to fly to KLIA in the second quarter of this year.
He said the country’s Melbourne landing rights were currently used by MAS, adding, “We will try not to duplicate where MAS is operating. We will try not to give it to another carrier”.
However, Chan said, it was up to the government to grant any landing rights or designate the rights to any carrier as there was no such things as dedicated landing rights for low-cost or full-fledged airlines.
Report by The Mole
