KUALA LUMPUR: The aviation industry relationship between Malaysia and China is set to increase by nearly 100% on the back of the visa-free policy between both countries, according to Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook.
“Since Malaysia and China have implemented the mutual visa-free policy in November 2023, bilateral tourism and the economy have received a shot in the arm,” he said at the Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce Lunar New Year Celebration on Saturday.
Loke cited Malaysian Aviation Commission data, in which the bilateral aviation industry will offer 6.8 million seats in 2024 representing 82% from the pre-pandemic in 2019 (8.3 million seats).
“Compared to 3.5 million seats in 2023, we will witness a growth of 95.3% for the 2024 capacity. In fact, we have seen double-digit growth every month since the visa-free.
“In December and January this year, year on year we have seen more than 30% growth. In fact, I just got the data last night for January passengers arrival in KLIA Terminal 1 for international passengers has improved by 32% compared to 2022. This was in large part contributed by Chinese tourists,” he said.
Additionally, he mentioned that two new routes will open up, one from Kota Kinabalu to Beijing Daxing and the other from Penang to Xiamen.
This week he will receive the chairman of China Eastern Airlines in Malaysia with part of the agenda focused on improving connectivity between Malaysia and China.
He said that China Eastern Airlines is looking to open up more routes between China and Kuala Lumpur, as well as other parts of Malaysia.
“Not only Kuala Lumpur, but also other cities including Penang, Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu, and Kuching are in the pipeline,” he said.
He said that the past 50 years have witnessed many contributions gained from developing friendly ties between both countries, particularly One Belt One Road projects such as the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL).
“Scheduled to be completed by December 2026, the ECRL will serve to boost connectivity between East and West Coasts of the Peninsular. The Malaysia-China collaborated and developed industrial parks along the railway will further improve the local economy,” he added.
