Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd's (MAHB) airport maintenance expenditure is set to increase by 34 per cent in 2024. The Transport Ministry reported that MAHB spent RM546 million on maintenance in 2023 to ensure the upkeep of all airports it operates nationwide.

The ministry detailed that RM19.1 million was allocated in 2023 specifically for maintaining airports and airstrips in Sarawak. "Maintenance allocation increased to RM27.1 million in 2024, which is a 41.9 per cent rise compared to 2023," the ministry noted in Parliament today. This increase addresses concerns raised by Pele Peter Tinggom about the need for effective upgrading, repairing, and maintaining of the country's airports, particularly those in Sarawak.

As of 2024, MAHB has identified eight airports requiring upgrades. These include Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Kota Kinabalu International Airport, Kuching International Airport, Miri Airport, Bario Airfield (Short Take-Off And Landing Airports), Tawau Airport, Penang International Airport, and Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang. The costs for these upgrade works will be covered either by government development allocations or by MAHB on a competitive basis.

The financing for these upgrades will follow an investment recovery model, which will be discussed with MAHB and subject to government approval. Additionally, the government has extended MAHB's operational rights to manage, maintain, and develop 39 airports and airstrips in Malaysia until 2069 through two operational agreements signed on March 18, 2024.

The Malaysian Aviation Commission has also been enforcing a service quality framework since September 2018 to ensure that airport infrastructure and services nationwide, including those in Sarawak, meet safety and maintenance standards, with financial penalties for non-compliance by operators.