Malaysian airline AirAsia has announced a significant expansion in capacity on flights to Malaysia from India and China, totalling what it describes as ‘an impressive 230 weekly flights’ starting in the first quarter of 2024.
The additional capacity, comprising up to 5.2 million seats per year, comes in response to the anticipated surge in demand following the Malaysian government’s announcement of a 30-day visa-free entry for travellers from China and India into the country (effective from 1 December 2023).
“We see this as an opportunity not only to enhance regional connectivity in two of our largest markets, but also to act as a catalyst for significant economic growth,” highlighted AirAsia Aviation Group CEO, Bo Lingam. “We are ready to play a pivotal role in achieving Malaysia’s ambitious tourism targets of 25 million international tourists annually”.
Both AirAsia Malaysia and AirAsia X Malaysia operate 17 routes into China with a total of 156 flights weekly. Both airlines have also increased frequencies to nine routes into India with a total of 74 flights weekly.