By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Mar 16: Malaysia recorded 169,877 international flights offering more than 34.2 million seats in 2025, with the expanded air connectivity contributing to the country’s record-breaking international visitor arrivals of over 42 million last year.
According to a Facebook post, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia Dato Seri Tiong King Sing said the strong growth in international air services played a crucial role in supporting Malaysia’s inbound tourism performance in 2025.
He said reliable air connectivity remains the backbone of tourism, enabling easier access for international travellers and contributing to the surge in visitor arrivals recorded during the year.
“Malaysia added 89 new air routes in 2025, comprising 59 scheduled routes and 30 charter services, linking 23 countries and regions to 11 airports nationwide.
“China accounted for the largest share of the new connections with 18 scheduled routes and 20 charter services linking 23 Chinese cities with Malaysian airports. Indonesia followed with 10 scheduled routes, while Singapore added five scheduled routes and two charter services,” he said.
On the Malaysian side, the routes served 11 airports including two each in the Klang Valley (Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Subang Airport), Sabah (Kota Kinabalu and Tawau) and Sarawak (Kuching and Miri). Other airports benefiting from the expansion were located in Penang, Ipoh, Johor Bahru, Langkawi and Kota Bahru.
A total of 92 airlines operated 498 international routes to Malaysia in 2025, comprising 86 foreign carriers and six Malaysian airlines. Together, these services provided 169,877 flights and 34,203,168 seats throughout the year.
Among the routes, 104 international routes each offered more than 100,000 seats during the year. Of these, 93 routes served Kuala Lumpur International Airport, nine served Penang International Airport, while one route each connected to Kuching and Ipoh.
Most of the high-capacity routes were concentrated within Southeast Asia, reflecting strong regional travel demand and reinforcing Malaysia’s position as a key destination for international visitors. — DayakDaily
