Malaysia's newly announced Covid-19 crew restrictions have airlines up in arms

Even though Malaysia is poised to restore its borders to international travellers on January 1, certain foreign airlines that had discontinued flights to Malaysia after the country closed its borders in March last year are delaying preparations to resume their flights.

This comes as part of the upcoming Covid-19 rules, which will require all local and international aircraft crews arriving in the country to undergo fever screening and Covid-19 Rapid Antigen (RTK-Ag) tests.
If a crew member tests positive, he or she must stay in a hotel/home quarantine in the country for seven days or until the next flight is scheduled.
After arrival in Malaysia, foreign and local aircrew are not needed to undergo RTK-Ag testing.

Airlines are reportedly furious about the latest recommendations published by the Ministry of Health (MoH), which are set to take effect on Sunday (Nov 21).

According to industry stakeholders, international aircrew — including pilots, cabin crew, engineers, loadmasters, security, and training pilots — will be required to complete Covid-19 tests every time they arrive in Malaysia under the proposed guidelines, which may take up to two to three hours.

"Each 24-hour cycle must include a 10-hour rest period for crew members.
As a result, the new RTK-Ag test requirement may impair the crew's appropriate rest period," an industry stakeholder, who did not want to be identified, told theedgemarkets.com.

"In addition, according to the MoH circular, aircrew with a positive RTK-Ag test result will be confined for seven days in the country or until the next planned flight."
Which one is it?
If the latter, there is a risk because if a crew member is a pilot who tests positive for Covid-19, he or she will be quarantined in Malaysia, which means the flight may not be able to operate at all for a week," the industry participant added.

"Countries such as Singapore and Thailand currently allow pilots who have tested positive for Covid-19 to return to their crew base.
That is also why, during the pandemic, foreign airlines choose to use Singapore and Bangkok as hubs.
They gain all of the airlines, while Kuala Lumpur International Airport suffers a setback.

"If these quarantine measures are implemented, we may see some foreign airlines decide to quit making layovers in Malaysia entirely because such procedures would just increase their costs," the industry participant noted.

"The new rules are impossible to follow.
This complicates Malaysia's already delayed border reopening process.
"You've also seen how Hong Kong's latest quarantine legislation drove FedEx Corp to shift its Hong Kong staff base to San Francisco," said another industry insider.

Because of the city's strong anti-coronavirus policies, worldwide delivery company FedEx is closing its crew base in Hong Kong and sending pilots overseas, according to the South China Morning Post.

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