China’s direct flight services to begin in June

KUCHING: China Eastern Airlines will launch a new flight route from Nanjing to Kuching and Kota Kinabalu directly in June.

Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said this marks the first direct flight connection from Sarawak to China in several years.

“The new Nanjing to Kuching route, beginning June 24, will operate three times weekly on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The flights will utilise either Boeing 737-800 or Airbus A320neo aircraft,” he said on his Facebook page recently.

Further expanding its Malaysian network, China Eastern Airlines also plans to introduce daily flights from Shanghai Pudong Airport to various Malaysian destinations later this year.

“This includes daily services to Penang starting July 24, and daily round-trip flights to Kuching beginning mid-September,” he said.

Highlighting a significant increase in air travel between Malaysia and China, Tiong added that China Eastern Airlines and its subsidiary, Shanghai Airlines, will boost the number of weekly round-trip flights to at least 62. These airlines will also add five new departure cities in China – Beijing, Xi’an, Urumqi, Nanjing, and Kunming – and three new Malaysian destinations: Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, and Penang. Notably, Xi’an and Urumqi will cater to the Chinese Muslim market.

Tiong cited impressive statistics from Shanghai Airlines, noting a 45 per cent increase in Chinese tourists visiting Malaysia and a 23 per cent rise in Malaysian visitors to China following the Malaysian government’s visa waiver for Chinese tourists.

“This surge in travel reflects the positive reception to the visa waiver programme and has encouraged airlines to increase flights and open new routes,” he said.

Immediate plans include increasing Shanghai Airlines flights from Pudong Shanghai Airport to Kuala Lumpur. Starting January 19, the frequency will rise to 21 flights per week, up from 17, using the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. Additionally, from January 26, China Eastern Airlines will commence Beijing to Kuala Lumpur flights four times a week using Airbus A330 aircraft.

The new Urumqi to Kuala Lumpur route will initially operate as charter flights from May to late July, three times a week, before transitioning to daily scheduled flights during the Hajj season.

Moreover, a new route from Kunming to Kuala Lumpur will begin on February 1 with daily round-trip flights, and the Xi’an to Kuala Lumpur route will start on March 25, eventually increasing to daily flights from July 1.

Tiong urged Malaysian and local tourism operators to prepare for a surge in Chinese tourists, emphasising the need to provide exceptional experiences and leverage this opportunity to boost Malaysia’s tourism industry.