Malaysia’s aviation sector expanded in 2025 with new routes and fleet upgrades, while facing operational disruptions and preparing for the renewed MH370 search
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s aviation sector experienced a year of significant growth and challenges in 2025, capped by the announcement that the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will resume on December 30.
The new search for the Boeing 777, which disappeared in 2014 with 239 people on board, aims to solve one of aviation’s greatest mysteries.
The year was marked by runaway passenger demand, major fleet expansions by Malaysian Aviation Group and AirAsia, and numerous new international routes.
Malaysia Airlines resumed flights to Paris and Brisbane, British Airways returned to Kuala Lumpur after a five-year hiatus, and AirAsia launched services to Istanbul.
Several Chinese carriers also began new routes to Malaysia, capitalising on strong travel demand.
The sector also confronted significant challenges, including airspace closures due to conflicts, cyberattack threats, and persistent breakdowns of the aerotrain at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
A water leakage incident at KLIA’s Terminal 1 in November further drew public criticism over infrastructure reliability.
A landmark event was the privatisation and delisting of Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) in February after 25 years as a public entity.
The RM456 million aerotrain upgrade at KLIA achieved 98.41% operational availability, though service disruptions between July and October prompted a comprehensive action plan.
About RM30 million was invested in upgrading KLIA Terminal 1.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim revealed that hackers demanded a US$10 million ransom following a sophisticated cyberattack on MAHB’s systems, which the government refused to pay.
A major regulatory shift occurred on August 1 with the merger of the Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) into the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM).
Malaysia was re-elected to the International Civil Aviation Organisation Council for the 2025-2028 term.
KLIA was ranked among the world’s top 10 airports in the 2024 Airport Service Quality survey for terminals managing over 40 million passengers.
Malaysia Airlines expanded its fleet commitments, ordering 20 additional A330neo aircraft and 30 Boeing 737 MAX planes.
Malaysia Aviation Group reported a net profit of RM54 million for 2024.
The Sarawak government completed its takeover of MASwings, rebranding it as AirBorneo.
Capital A signed a US$12.25 billion agreement for 50 Airbus A321XLR aircraft and moved into the final stage of its PN17 exit process.
Newcomer Ascend Airways Malaysia began operations in mid-November.
Operational challenges included a major power outage at London Heathrow disrupting Malaysia Airlines flights and the Pakistani airspace closure in May forcing flight reroutings.
The International Air Transport Association’s vice-president for Asia Pacific, Sheldon Hee, said the region remains the world’s fastest-growing aviation market.
With RM50 million in matching grants under Budget 2026, Malaysia is targeting 35.6 million tourist arrivals for Visit Malaysia Year 2026. – Bernama
