KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21 (Bernama) -- International passenger traffic across Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd's Malaysian operations rose 9.3 per cent month-on-month (m-o-m) to 4.5 million movements in July 2026, supported by the summer travel season across Europe, the Middle East and parts of Asia.
Malaysia Airports said overall passenger movements across its local network increased 4.6 per cent m-o-m to 8.0 million in July, while connectivity continued to expand with the introduction of two new airlines at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
Domestic traffic remained softer at 3.5 million passengers in July, down one per cent from June and 19.8 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y), as airlines continued to optimise capacity in response to operating costs and changing market demand, it said in a statement today.
Meanwhile, overall passenger movements across airports in Malaysia dropped 11 per cent y-o-y.
“For the first seven months of 2026, Malaysia Airports’ Malaysian operations handled 59 million passengers, broadly comparable with the corresponding period last year. International traffic grew 6.1 per cent y-o-y during the period, while domestic traffic was 6.7 per cent lower," it said in a statement.
It said KLIA handled five million passengers in July, up 6.6 per cent from June with year-to-date traffic at KLIA reaching 36.7 million passengers, 3.4 per cent higher than the same period in 2025.
Malaysia Airports managing director Datuk Mohd Izani Ghani said international traffic continues to provide a positive counterbalance to softer domestic movements.
“While passenger traffic will vary across markets and periods, our focus remains on strengthening connectivity and ensuring that our airports are ready to support changing travel demand.
“At the same time, we continue to improve the passenger journey across our network. These improvements, together with the addition of new airline services, are part of the ongoing work to make our airports easier and more convenient to travel through,” he said.
On connectivity, Malaysia Airports said AirBorneo began twice-daily direct services from Kuching to Kuala Lumpur on July 20 and daily services from Kuching to Singapore on July 22, followed by Riyadh Air, which launched three-times-weekly direct services from Riyadh to Kuala Lumpur on July 31.
Beyond KLIA, Sultan Ismail Petra Airport in Kota Bharu continued to build its international traffic following the introduction of the Kota Bharu-Jakarta service in June, with international passenger movements at the airport rising 54.1 per cent m-o-m to more than 6,200 in July.
Meanwhile, passenger-focused improvements completed during the month included refreshed check-in counters at Sibu Airport, a new cat-themed playground at Kuching International Airport, as well as additional charging points and a new tiger-themed playground at KLIA Terminal 2.
“Across the group, passenger traffic reached 12.8 million movements in July 2026. Istanbul Sabiha Gokçen International Airport recorded 4.9 million passengers during the month, an increase of 14.2 per cent from June and 9.6 per cent y-o-y.
“For the January-July period, the group handled 87.7 million passengers, 2.1 per cent higher than the corresponding period in 2025,” it said.
-- BERNAMA