Following agreements allowing travellers from India and China to offer visa-free entry to Malaysia, AirAsia has announced a significant increase in services between China-Malaysia and India-Malaysia, totalling 230 weekly flights starting in the first quarter of 2024, with up to 5.2 million seats per year. Malaysian passport holders will have access to visa-free travel China from 1st December 2023, for up to 15 days starting 1st December 2023 until 30th November 2024 for business, tourism, family visits and transit purposes.
Hopefully India will announce a similar initiative, as an Indian visa is more expensive for holders of Malaysian passports than those from other countries, offering only one year multiple entry visa, applied for in advance.
Visa-free travel and historical links
Historical connections between Malaysia and both China and India has always made these countries popular destinations for Malaysians. The Malaysian government’s announcement of a 30-day visa-free entry for travellers from China and India into Malaysia starting 1st December 2023 is expected to see a surge in travel demand. As such, the significant increase in capacity via AirAsia Malaysia (airline code AK) and AirAsia X Malaysia (airline code D7) is timely.
As the largest foreign low-cost carrier in China, both AirAsia Malaysia (AK) and AirAsia X Malaysia (D7) fly 17 routes into the country with a total of 156 flights weekly. AirAsia Malaysia (AK) and AirAsia X Malaysia (D7) fly from Kuala Lumpur to
- Guangzhou
- Quanzhou
- Kunming
- Guilin
- Nanning
- Shantou
- Shenzhen
- Chengdu
- Beijing
- Hangzhou
- Shanghai
AirAsia Malaysia (AK) also flies from Kota Kinabalu to Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Beijing and Wuhan, as well as from Johor Bahru to Guangzhou.
Both airlines have also increased frequencies to nine routes into India with a total of 74 flights weekly. AirAsia Malaysia (AK) flies from Kuala Lumpur to
- Bengaluru
- Kolkata
- Cochin
- Hyderabad
- Chennai
- Trichy
- Trivandrum – a new destination starting in February 2024.
AirAsia X Malaysia (D7) flies from Kuala Lumpur to New Delhi and Amritsar.
… AirAsia has been at the forefront of trying to make visiting Malaysia easier. The 30-day visa-free entry for the citizens of China and India will surely provide a welcome boost for Malaysia’s tourism and its economy ahead of the upcoming peak travel season while boosting economic bonds between these great nations. Capital A CEO Tony Fernandes
AirAsia Aviation Group Limited Group CEO, Bo Lingam added that the airline sees this as an opportunity not only to enhance regional connectivity in two of their largest markets, but also to act as a catalyst for significant economic growth.
… With an estimated 4.6 million guests expected to travel on our extensive network of 26 routes in China and India in 2024 alone, we are ready to play a pivotal role in achieving Malaysia’s ambitious tourism targets of 25 million international tourists annually.
Look out for good deals at the AirAsia website and download their SuperApp to make bookings easier.
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