PETALING JAYA: There will be nine new international routes connecting five key destinations in Malaysia with other countries, says Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.
There will also be one charter flight route, the Tourism Minister said, adding that this brings the total of flights to 3,100 weekly flights to Malaysia.
The 10 new routes will be progressively launched started Nov 28, beginning with Vietjet’s daily direct flights between Hanoi and Kuala Lumpur.
"By mid-December, Indigo Airlines will make its debut in Malaysia with three new routes connecting Malaysia and India.
"These include daily flights from Bengaluru to Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi, as well as a daily flight from Chennai to Penang." he said.
Other new routes, said Tiong, include Batik Air’s daily flights between Bangkok and Johor Baru, AirAsia’s three weekly flights from Saigon to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia Airlines’ five weekly flights from Kolkata to Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai Airlines’ three weekly flights from Yuncheng to Kuala Lumpur, and Jiangxi Airlines’ twice-weekly flights from Nanchang to Kuala Lumpur, with the launch date to be confirmed.
He said on Dec 10, Jeju Air will introduce a charter flight route offering twice-weekly flights between Muan, South Korea, and Kota Kinabalu.
"These routes will connect five key destinations within the country—Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru, Kota Kinabalu, Langkawi, and Penang, offering greater travel convenience and attracting even more international tourists.
"These additional routes will allow multiple states to share the benefits of the tourism market while providing diverse travel options to maximise convenience," he said, adding that this would undoubtedly enhance Malaysia's competitiveness in the global tourism industry.
Tiong said once all 10 routes are operational, this will add an additional 50 international flights per week to Malaysia.
"This will increase our weekly maximum passenger capacity by over 7,400, bringing the total number of international flights to over 3,100 per week. The maximum passenger capacity will rise from 612,423 to nearly 620,000 passengers per week," he said.
He also said as of October, international tourist arrivals to Malaysia have exceeded 20.5 million for 2024, surpassing the 20.14 million recorded for the entire year of 2023.
"I am optimistic that this year-end push will bring us closer to pre-pandemic levels," he said.
