The government plans to reintroduce direct flights to Russia – Anthony Loke
KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Transport (MoT) is planning with airlines from Russia to reintroduce direct flights from Malaysia to Russia.
Its minister, Anthony Loke Siew Fook said, the government welcomes if any of their airlines are interested in offering services to Malaysia.
“We have previously had discussions and will of course take the opportunity at this ICAN meeting to discuss with the Russian airline but it depends on the Russian commercial airline,” he said.
He said this in a press conference after officiating the International Conference on Civil Aviation Negotiations (ICAN) 2024, here, on Monday.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim last September stated that Malaysia and Russia should plan to introduce direct flights between the two countries to increase the number of tourists.
Malaysia receives more than 100,000 tourists from Russia in 2023 which is seen as a great potential to increase the number of tourists from the country through the provision of more flights.
Commenting further, Loke said, the government is now trying to obtain new air traffic rights from more than 30 countries to encourage local and international airlines to expand their operations to Malaysia.
Following that, the government will hold air service negotiations in addition to streamlining and establishing Air Service Agreements (ASA) with the countries involved.