KL offers incentives to cargo firms

KL offers incentives to cargo firms

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will extend cash incentives to air cargo operators in yet another attempt to boost business at its main international airport, reports said Thursday.

As part of a campaign to turn the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) into a regional aviation hub, cash incentives currently offered to passenger airlines will also be offered to air cargo operators, Transport Minister Ling Liong Sik was quoted by The New Straits Times daily as saying.

Last week, Malaysia unveiled a 10 million ringgit (US$2.6 million) incentive scheme where new carriers flying into the four-year-old KLIA will be paid one ringgit for every ringgit spent on promotional activities such as advertising in Malaysia.

The government has already waived parking and landing fees for the next five years for new services to the airport as it seeks to compete with neighboring Singapore.

The under-utilized nine billion-ringgit KLIA, located south of Kuala Lumpur, handled only 14.6 million passengers last year, well below its 25 million capacity. -- AFP