Malaysia Airlines will relaunch service between Kuala Lumpur and Fukuoka, Japan, later this year.
Malaysia’s flag carrier will resume flights to Fukuoka starting Sept. 2 after a hiatus of nearly two decades. The airline last flew to Fukuoka in September 2006.
Malaysia Airlines will be the only carrier offering nonstop service on this route.
“The return to Fukuoka further enhances our network depth,” Nasaruddin A. Bakar, president and Group Chief Executive Officer of Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), said in a news release. “As the only carrier operating direct flights on this route, we are proud to offer passengers a seamless nonstop experience that eliminates the need for transit. These developments demonstrate our ongoing commitment to optimizing our network and delivering a more integrated travel experience for our customers.”
Gateway to Japan
Several international airlines now offer nonstop service to Fukuoka, including Vietnam Airlines, Thai Airways, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, China Eastern, StarLux Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Tigerair, Air Asia, T’Way, VietJet, and Hong Kong Express. The city is fast emerging as an alternate gateway into Japan.
While most international tourists arrive in Tokyo or Osaka, an increasing number of visitors are coming through alternate gateways such as Fukuoka, Nagoya, and Sapporo. This is helping to improve the geographical spread of tourists across Japan, which has seen record growth in tourist numbers since the COVID-19 pandemic.
As part of an East Asian expansion drive, Malaysia Airlines will also introduce flights between Kuala Lumpur and Shenzhen and Changsha in China. These routes will launch in July.
