KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 -- Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said airlines no longer have justification to keep domestic ticket prices elevated as they were no longer restricted to flying with lower capacities.

In his press briefing today, Ismail said that the Special Meeting of Ministers concluded that airfares should consequently return to what they were before the movement control order (MCO) was first enforced.

"Lately we have been hearing grouses that the airfares are still high. The Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) made a presentation regarding the flight ticket prices, including domestic ones in the peninsula, within the peninsula states or from the peninsula to Sabah and Sarawak which are part of domestic flight ...