AirAsia X (AAX) has resumed its services to Shanghai, China with four weekly flights from Kuala Lumpur which commenced yesterday, on 2 March 2023. The inaugural post-pandemic flight from Kuala Lumpur departed with an encouraging passenger load, while the return flight from Shanghai earlier today, took flight almost 100% full with 373 guests, signalling significant outbound travel demand from the Chinese market.

Amid encouraging demand and the easing of inbound travel restrictions to China, AAX plans to ramp up capacity and increase the frequency of services to Shanghai with 11 weekly flights by the second quarter this year, akin to its pre-pandemic frequency.

AirAsia X Malaysia CEO, Benyamin Ismail said: “Our first inaugural flight to Shanghai was a decade ago and today, we are thrilled to be back in China and celebrate the resumption of this historically very popular destination. In addition, we have also restarted our weekly flight to/from Hangzhou recently with 97% passenger load to Kuala Lumpur.

“China is one of the world’s major economies and the reopening of flights to China is a positive sign for AAX and the tourism industry in general. As China has only just started to reopen, this is only the beginning of the recovery process. We remain optimistic that travel demand to China will quickly return to pre-pandemic levels in the near future.

“Most importantly, we are seeing a sharp upturn in demand from Chinese travellers which will boost our recovery and accelerate the local tourism industries in both destinations. We look forward to restarting more flights to/from China in the coming months.”