KOTA KINABALU – Sabah now has 40 weekly direct international flights, with South Korea making up most of the direct scheduled flights with 17 to date.
State assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment minister Datuk Joniston Bangkuai said this shows an increased demand for travel into the state following the interest shown by airline companies for the Kota Kinabalu route.
“We are definitely considering expanding direct flights and possibly resuming previously suspended direct routes from Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan and China,” said the Sabah Tourism Board chairman and Kiulu assemblyman in a statement here today.
Last night, South Korea’s low-cost carrier Air Busan resumed its Busan-Kota Kinabalu route and flew 220 passengers into the state.
The budget airline currently operates two weekly flights between Busan and Kota Kinabalu.
This marks the 17th direct scheduled flight between South Korea and Sabah.
At present, Singapore has 14 direct flights to Sabah, Brunei (4), Thailand (3) and the Philippines (2).
Since the reopening of Malaysia’s borders on April 1, five foreign airlines have returned to Sabah.
Three among them are South Korea’s low-cost carriers, namely Jeju Air via Incheon, Jin Air via Incheon, and Air Busan via Incheon and Busan.
Others include Scoot via Singapore, and Royal Brunei Airlines via Bandar Seri Begawan.
Air Asia is also offering direct international flights to Kota Kinabalu from Singapore, Manila and Bangkok.
There are a total of 372 weekly domestic flights to Kota Kinabalu from Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Penang, Kelantan, Terengganu, Sarawak and Labuan respectively. – The Vibes, July 14, 2022
