PUTRAJAYA: The new direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Doha will help to continue driving Malaysia's tourism recovery and boost the country's tourism sector, following the reopening of the country's borders on April 1, said Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.

She said as the third Middle Eastern destination after Jeddah and Madinah, the new route will help to further boost the traffic growth via Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) as well as opening up Malaysia more broadly to travellers from other international destinations.

"The new service will provide passengers with seamless connectivity via Hamad International Airport, enabling optimal connections to the United States, Europe, Africa and the Middle East through the codeshare partnership with Qatar Airways," she said in a statement after personally welcoming passengers aboard the first flight from Doha upon arrival at KLIA today.

She said Malaysia Airlines will operate a direct daily flight between KLIA (KUL) and Hamad International Airport, Doha (DOH) via MH160 departing KUL-DOH at 9.20 pm and MH161 departing DOH-KUL at 1.30 am.

"The daily service will be operated with an A330-300 aircraft equipped with 290 seats, comprising 27 seats in Business Class, 16 Economy with extra legroom and 247 seats in Economy Class," said Nancy.


Recently, Malaysia Airlines chief executive officer Capt Izham Ismail had announced the national airline's new route to Doha starting May 25, saying it is an excellent opportunity to expand it's network and offerings, including connecting the ASEAN market with the Middle East region.

Commenting on the new route, Nancy said Malaysia expects to attract two million international tourist arrivals this year with RM8.6 billion in tourism receipts following the reopening of the country's borders.

"It is indeed a huge relief for the tourism industry as we welcome more international tourists, newcomers and regulars alike, to further boost our economy. Therefore, we hope for a strong rebound in our market as the border reopening will open doors for the tourism revival to bolster recovery," she said.

Meanwhile, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) said international traffic at it's local network of airports has increased by 53 per cent following the border reopening.

MAHB said it has recorded an average of 23,000 international passenger movements daily, with numbers peaking above 30,000 during the recent long Hari Raya festive break.

"The Group recorded a total of 2.78 million passengers for Malaysia in April, with domestic passenger movements totalling 2.13 million or 77 per cent," said MAHB.

-- BERNAMA