{
  "id": 4132730,
  "title": "PAS Sabah urges immediate action over rising airfares for Sabah, Sarawak routes",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/pas-sabah-urges-immediate-action-over-rising-airfares-for-sabah",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-29T06:45:45.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Borneo Post Online",
    "slug": "borneo-post-online",
    "url": "https://www.theborneopost.com/2026/08/29/pas-sabah-urges-immediate-action-over-rising-airfares/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "KOTA KINABALU (Aug 29): Mustaman Mustain, the PAS Sabah Information Chief, has called on the federal government to take immediate and serious action to tackle the significant rise in airfares to Sabah and Sarawak. He emphasized that air travel is crucial for Sabahans, particularly those from lower-income groups, for family matters, education, employment, and emergencies. Reports have emerged of families being stranded in their hometowns for months and students worrying about missing their studies due to soaring fares, demonstrating the real-world impact of this issue. Mustaman, who also serves as PAS Sandakan secretary, proposed various solutions, including a People’s Emergency Fare Scheme for travel involving deaths, critical health conditions, and verified emergencies. He suggested extending subsidized fares to other peak travel periods instead of only during festive seasons and negotiating with airlines to reserve a portion of their capacity at reasonable prices during high-demand periods. Mustaman also advocated for block bookings for key routes and the establishment of a regular airfares monitoring system to identify and address price increases before they become burdensome for consumers. He stressed that the consequences of rising airfares extend beyond passengers, affecting businesses such as hotels, transport providers, and tourism, as well as local communities that rely on air travel to connect with Peninsular Malaysia.",
  "summary": "KOTA KINABALU (Aug 29): The federal government must take immediate and serious action to address the sharp increase in airfares to Sabah and Sarawak, said PAS Sabah Information Chief Mustaman Mustain. He said the issue should not be viewed merely as a matter of market price fluctuations, as air travel had become an essential need [...] The post PAS Sabah urges immediate action over rising…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}