Sarawak’s tourism authorities rolled out a red carpet on 9 December for the inaugural Loong Air charter from Shenzhen, marking the first direct air connection between the southern Chinese tech hub and Kuching . The Airbus A320 arrived with 85 passengers and was sent off full on the return leg later the same evening.
The flight will operate every Tuesday for the winter season; Sarawak officials said the carrier has “verbally indicated” plans for Hangzhou and Guangzhou services by March 2026. China’s consul-general Xing Weiping hailed the route as a “positive move for connectivity and mobility,” predicting a rise in Chinese leisure and business arrivals.
![Loong Air launches weekly Shenzhen–Kuching service, deepening China–Malaysia links]()
For Chinese companies in Guangdong and Zhejiang, the link offers a one-stop conduit to Malaysia’s energy and agri-processing clusters and shortens journey times for project teams. Malaysia, which grants 30-day visa-free entry to Chinese nationals, expects the service to support its goal of five million Chinese visitors in 2026.
Travel buyers should note that the weekly frequency limits flexibility; contingency routings via Kuala Lumpur remain necessary for tight schedules. Airlines are watching load factors; sustained demand could see the charter converted to a scheduled service and frequencies increased ahead of peak summer travel.
The launch underscores how second-tier Chinese cities are spearheading outbound recovery, and how Southeast Asian destinations are competing aggressively for the Chinese market amid softening arrivals from Europe.
The flight will operate every Tuesday for the winter season; Sarawak officials said the carrier has “verbally indicated” plans for Hangzhou and Guangzhou services by March 2026. China’s consul-general Xing Weiping hailed the route as a “positive move for connectivity and mobility,” predicting a rise in Chinese leisure and business arrivals.
For Chinese companies in Guangdong and Zhejiang, the link offers a one-stop conduit to Malaysia’s energy and agri-processing clusters and shortens journey times for project teams. Malaysia, which grants 30-day visa-free entry to Chinese nationals, expects the service to support its goal of five million Chinese visitors in 2026.
Travel buyers should note that the weekly frequency limits flexibility; contingency routings via Kuala Lumpur remain necessary for tight schedules. Airlines are watching load factors; sustained demand could see the charter converted to a scheduled service and frequencies increased ahead of peak summer travel.
The launch underscores how second-tier Chinese cities are spearheading outbound recovery, and how Southeast Asian destinations are competing aggressively for the Chinese market amid softening arrivals from Europe.
