DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, March 30: A total of 27 new international flights will be introduced this year, adding more than 100 flights to major destinations across Malaysia, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Dato Seri Tiong King Sing announced.
Of these newly confirmed routes, 16 are scheduled flights and 11 are chartered flights – all of which are direct routes to and from Malaysia. So far, 12 of these flights have already begun operations.
In a Facebook post, Tiong shared that most of these new routes involve China, covering eight scheduled flights and 11 chartered flights. One notable addition is a direct flight from Wenzhou, China, to Kuala Lumpur, set to launch on June 30, marking China United Airlines’ inaugural flight to Malaysia.
“This new route also involves second and third-tier cities in China such as Wenzhou, Tunxi, and Shijiazhuang.
“This is part of the Visit Malaysia Year 2026 (VM2026) strategy, which focuses on direct connections to more medium-sized cities in China, to attract more tourists,” he said.
“A total of 11 routes involve connections between China and Malaysia, including four special charter flights introduced in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebrations.
“This route offers direct connections to Tawau, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, and Langkawi,” he added.
Tiong noted that two routes were launched last February, namely the flights between Xi’an and Kuala Lumpur and Urumqi and Kuala Lumpur.
These flight routes are expected to strengthen the Muslim-friendly tourism initiative, while also making Malaysia a major transit hub for Hajj and Umrah pilgrims.
Several other scheduled routes that have also started operating since the beginning of this year include Xi’an-Kuala Lumpur by China Eastern Airlines, and Urumqi-Kuala Lumpur by China Southern Airlines. – DayakDaily
