Increased frequency of charter flights among measures to boost tourism, says Tiong

KUALA LUMPUR: Increasing the frequency of charter flights is among the initiatives taken by Tourism Malaysia to boost foreign tourist arrivals in the country, says Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.

“Tourism Malaysia had prepared the International and Charter Flight Matching Grant (GSPC) to local and international airlines,” the Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister said during Minister's Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday(March 7).

Several routes were implemented through the GSPC to increase frequency and capacity, he added.

Among them are scheduled flights from Dubai (UAE) - Kuala Lumpur and Karachi (Pakistan) - Kuala Lumpur by Batik Air; as well as flights from Amristar / Trivandrum / Ahmedabad (India) to Kuala Lumpur by Malaysia Airlines.

There are seven charter flight routes from the first and second tiers to accomodate the demand during the Chinese New Year and the Spring Festival.

The said routes are Nanjing – Tawau, Zhengzhou – Kuala Lumpur, Xi’an – Kuala Lumpur, Chengdu – Langkawi, Chengdu – Kota Kinabalu, Chongqing – Langkawi, and Shenyang – Kuala Lumpur.

Apart from that, there are also additional flight routes such as Dubai – Pulau Pinang/Langkawi by FlyDubai, Baghdad – Kuala Lumpur by Iraqi Airways and Jeddah – Kuala Lumpur by Batik Air; Sabiha, Turkiye – Kuala Lumpur by Batik Air, Ashgabat – Kuala Lumpur by Turkmenistan Airlines as well as Tashkent – Kuala Lumpur by Batik Air.

Other routes are Kaohsiung – Kuala Lumpur by Batik Air and Xi'an – Kuala Lumpur by AirAsia and Batam – Kuala Lumpur by Batik Air.

Tiong added that the routes from London – Kuala Lumpur by British Airways, Phnom Penh – Kuala Lumpur by Cambodia Airways and Changi – Sibu by Scoot are expected to begin soon.

He was responding to a question by Syahredzan Johan (PH-Bangi) on the measures taken to ensure that chartered flights services increased tourist arrivals and subsequently the country’s economy.