The rapid growth of low-cost carrier MYAirline augurs well for domestic and international travellers to Sabah, says state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew.

“We appreciate MYAirline for its unwavering support in promoting Sabah tourism and positioning the state as a must visit destination,” she said.

Liew is happy that MYAirline is also looking at establishing a hub in Kota Kinabalu.

“Its current operations in Sabah are centred around Kota Kinabalu and Tawau with a total frequency of 28 and 14 flights weekly from Kuala Lumpur, respectively.

“It is also providing daily flights from Kota Kinabalu to Tawau,” she said when launching the MyAirline Miss Borneo 2023 beauty pageant here on Saturday.

Liew was informed that daily flights to Sandakan will be introduced soon.

She pointed out that in just less than seven months, the fledgling low-cost carrier had increased its passenger load by 60% to Sabah and Sarawak.

“Since its first flight on Dec 1, 2022, MYAirline’s passenger load had increased by 34% on the Sabah route alone,” she said.

She said Malaysia’s newest airline had achieved a significant milestone in terms of expanding its operations to various destinations.

From its initial flights, MYAirline has expanded from three destinations in Malaysia to eight more domestic destinations.

Liew said MYAirline is also looking at expanding its domestic routes as well as to selected Asean destinations such as Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam by the end of this year.

On the MYAirline Miss Borneo event, she felt that it was a unique approach by the company for recruiting Sabahans with dreams of working in the airline industry.

The beauty pageant candidates were hired earlier this week and would compete for MYAirline Miss Borneo 2023.