Tourism minister: 6 new direct flights from cities in China to Kota Kinabalu expected in 2024

Dato Sri Tiong King Sing

KUCHING, Dec 15: New direct flight routes from six cities in China to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, are expected in 2024.

Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture (Motec) Dato Seri Tiong King Sing, in a Facebook post yesterday (Dec 14), said through a partnership between Avic Ark Airline Service Co Ltd (AAS) and AirAsia, the chartered flights from Ningbo, Nanjing, Hefei, Hangzhou, Nanchang, and Fuzhou are expected to launch in the coming festive season.

“A total of 42 flights will serve six cities to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

“From March 2024, AAAS will also start chartered flights from Changsha and Chengdu to Kuala Lumpur in partnership with Batik Air,” he said.

He added that Tourism Malaysia is also tasked to explore possibilities for more routes to Sarawak.

Meanwhile, Tiong said his delegation to Beijing from Dec 8 to 20 will continue the sales mission and roadshow to key Chinese markets such as Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Shanghai, and others to promote tourism to Malaysia and boost connectivity.

He also said that improving air connectivity between Malaysia and the People’s Republic of China is a significant direction and priority for Motac.

“Following recent fruitful discussions, several chartered flight routes will be operated as a pilot project and a trial programme to boost connectivity between key destinations in China and Malaysia,” he added. — DayakDaily