KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government will work with any airline that wants to expand direct flights to the state, says Datuk Jafry Ariffin (pic).

The Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister said this cooperation with airlines will definitely increase tourist arrivals to Sabah after welcoming Firefly’s inaugural direct flight from Penang to Kota Kinabalu on Monday (April 11).

“The selection of Sabah as a Firefly destination will help facilitate the arrival of tourists.

“I welcome Peninsular Malaysians to come to Sabah and explore our interesting places and also our culture, which is famous for its diversity,” he told reporters after welcoming passengers on the inaugural Firefly flight from Penang at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) here.

Jafry added that the direct route from Penang to Kota Kinabalu would certainly be beneficial, including encouraging the arrival of foreign tourists to Sabah.

“We hope that with the opening of the Penang-Kota Kinabalu route, it will help to significantly increase the number of foreign tourists in Sabah,” he said.

Malaysia Airlines Group (MAG) representative Captain Nasaruddin A Bakar, who is MASWings chief operating officer, said that Firefly brought in a total 100 passengers from Penang to Kota Kinabalu while 116 passengers departed from Kota Kinabalu to Penang on the company’s inaugural flights between the two destinations.

Asked to comment on the rise in ticket prices to Sabah ahead of the festive season, Nasaruddin explained that the ticket price depended on supply and demand.

“Currently, early bookings for Firefly tickets have received encouraging response, with 80% of ticket bookings received for the duration of the festival and the holiday season.

“Generally for each airline, the price depends on supply and demand. It also depends on the date, time and seat availability, so we encourage passengers to book in advance,” he said.