More Shanghai-KK flights added as Sabah tourism demand rises

More Shanghai–KK flights added as Sabah tourism demand rises, with airlines expanding capacity to meet growing travel demand ahead of summer. On Wednesday, Sabah’s Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin said Spring Airlines will operate charter services from July 1 to Oct 7 on the Shanghai–Kota Kinabalu route, with an estimated 99 charter flights. Scheduled service will increase to twice daily from July 1 to Oct 9, operated by China Eastern, before rising to three daily services during the July 16 to Aug 31 peak window for more than 120 flights. Existing service includes 14 weekly Shanghai flights as of June 15, operated by AirAsia and Shanghai Airlines. The expansion is expected to boost Chinese visitor arrivals, which grew to 292,396 in January–April versus 195,147 last year.