GEORGE TOWN, November 10 – Penang State Executive Councillor for Tourism and Creative Economy YB Yeoh Soon Hin pushes Putrajaya to include Penang International Airport in the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) between Malaysia and Singapore that is set to take effect beginning 29 November 2021. Yeoh said that PIA’s inclusion in the Malaysia-Singapore VTL will be a strong anchor to attract more air traffic from Singapore, which will then be a booster Malaysia’s economy, particularly for Penang, Kedah, Perlis and Perak.
“As a manufacturing hub boasting the label as the Silicon Valley of the East, introducing VTL in PIA will also see benefits to our manufacturing landscape that comprises an arsenal of multinational companies,” he said in a statement. He noted that the launch of VTL between these two nations marks a ground-breaking moment for Malaysia’s international tourism market that has been stagnated since March 2020 in view of the infectious outbreak.
“The launch of VTL in KLIA is much welcomed, but I believe that PIA should also be included considering its position as an important gateway to northern Peninsular Malaysia,” “Launching VTL in two cities concurrently can double the pace of economic recovery and reboot our battered industries, particularly the services sector that is constituted of food and beverage, hotels, tourism operators and etc,” he added. While speaking about public safety and industry preparedness, Yeoh cited that Penang’s adult population vaccination rate has achieved 99%; total population (83.1%) as of 9 November 2021. He also noted that most of Penang’s tourism frontliners are fully vaccinated through tailored vaccination programmes championed by his administration since July 2021.
Meanwhile, Yeoh shared that the international air route between Changi International Airport and PIA recorded 107 flights per week during pre-Covid days in November 2019, which he believes is a commendable figure that must be considered by Putrajaya. He added that launching VTL in 2 different international airports of the country will ensure a balanced economic recovery, benefitting the nation as a whole.
