New passenger air route to link Nanjing, Kuala Lumpur

NANJING, May 9 (Xinhua) -- China Eastern Airlines has announced the launch of a daily passenger flight service starting June 30, connecting Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, with Kuala Lumpur, capital of Malaysia.

The outbound flight from Nanjing Lukou International Airport is scheduled to take off at 10:50 p.m. and touch down in Kuala Lumpur at 4:40 a.m. local time the next day. The inbound flight will depart at 5:50 a.m. and reach Nanjing at 11:35 a.m. on the same day.

The new flight service comes amid the resurgence of international tourism, with China being one of the largest sources of tourists to Malaysia for many years. Malaysia has granted Chinese tourists visa-free entry for 30 days since December 1, 2023.

During the recent five-day May Day holiday, inbound flights and passenger volume at Nanjing Lukou International Airport surged by 79.2 percent and 89.5 percent year on year, respectively, with a significant portion of the influx coming from Southeast Asia.