A view of Sarawak River, in Malaysia.
PERTH, Australia—The Malaysian state of Sarawak is optimistic that the introduction of its own airline and a potential new airport will further drive tourism numbers, as it sets a target to welcome 5 million visitors in 2025.
The east Malaysian state formally acquired MASwings from the Malaysia Aviation Group in February this year as part of Sarawak Premier Abang Johari Openg’s goal to be self-reliant in air connectivity and drive economic activity. The state-owned Air Borneo, as it will be named, will also seek to offer lower airfares, officials have noted.
Abang Johari has named six countries—among them, Thailand, Japan, South Korea and Germany—as key international points Air Borneo will reach, although details will be ironed out once the airline is officially launched in 2026. MASwings has a leased fleet of eight ATR 72-500s and six De Havilland Canada 6-400s, according to the Aviation Week Network Fleet Discovery database. It also has two ATR 72-600s on order, Fleet Discovery shows.
To handle future aircraft movements and demand, a new air gateway to replace Kuching International Airport is planned to be built in Tanjung Embang, near the state capital, as part of an MYR100 billion ($22 billion) investment to make Sarawak a regional aviation and sea hub.
That project is estimated to be completed in 2032.
Speaking to Aviation Week at Routes Asia 2025 here in Perth, Sarawak's Deputy Tourism Minister Sebastian Ting said that in 2024 their tourism numbers reached 4.83 million, surpassing a 4 million target. In January 2025 alone, that figure reached 400,531, a year-over-year improvement of 13.4%.
Ting said the positive tourism figures seen in the first few months of this year suggest the state will surpass its new target of 5 million, especially since Sarawak sees higher arrival volumes during the second half of the year, he noted.
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