KUALA LUMPUR (May 24): Malaysia Airlines Bhd's ticket sales have grown more than 100% since Malaysia reopened its borders on April 1, 2022 in tandem with the country's transition to the Covid-19 endemic status from pandemic earlier, mint reported on Tuesday, quoting Malaysia Airlines' chief executive officer Izham Ismail.

"Since the government announced the reopening of Malaysia’s borders, we have seen a positive response from travellers eager to resume their travels. Ticket sales have been showing substantial growth [of] more than 100%.

"We are currently looking at very encouraging advanced booking on Malaysia Airlines with more than 80% load factor on most flights. We are seeing a strong pent-up demand," Izham said.

While the gradual reopening of global borders will accelerate air travel recovery, Malaysia Airlines is facing significant headwinds from high fuel prices, according to him.

The current Russia-Ukraine conflict has also raised concerns for the global aviation industry, he said.

"All companies within the group (Malaysia Aviation Group) have taken immediate steps to manage the impact of higher fuel cost.

"Safety remains the top priority and measures have been taken to avoid the conflict zone," said Izham, who is also group chief executive officer of Malaysia Aviation Group, which is the parent company of Malaysia Airlines.

Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd owns Malaysia Airlines via Malaysia Aviation Group.