Juneyao Air marked a significant milestone with the arrival of its inaugural flight from Shanghai to Tawau, further strengthening air connectivity between China and Sabah. This new route represents an important step in enhancing accessibility and reinforcing tourism ties between the two destinations.
The Shanghai–Tawau service has officially commenced operations with three weekly flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, operated using aircraft with a capacity of 180 seats. The route is expected to meet the growing demand for leisure travel from China while facilitating increased tourism flows and deeper people-to-people exchanges between China and Sabah.
The inaugural flight was welcomed by representatives from key tourism and aviation stakeholders, including Darryl Hamzah from Tourism Malaysia, Rehan Shafiq Azizan from Malaysia Airports Berhad and Shirly Ho from the Sabah Tourism Board. Simon Ng, representing Ground Team Red Sdn Bhd, the appointed ground handler for Juneyao Air, was also in attendance.
Mohd Amirul Rizal Abdul Rahim, Director General of Tourism Malaysia, expressed his support for the new service, noting that the inaugural scheduled flight from Shanghai to Tawau strengthens connectivity between China and Malaysia via Sabah. He added that the route provides greater convenience for travellers while supporting Sabah’s tourism growth, particularly in conjunction with the Visit Malaysia 2026 (VM2026) campaign.
The launch of this scheduled service forms part of broader efforts to strengthen inbound travel from China, one of Malaysia’s key source markets, while enhancing air connectivity to East Malaysia. Tawau serves as a strategic gateway to Sabah’s east coast, offering access to world-renowned marine tourism destinations, eco-adventure experiences and unique cultural attractions, most notably Semporna and its surrounding islands.
China continues to play a vital role in Malaysia’s tourism landscape, as reflected in the strong performance of the Chinese market. From January to November 2025, Malaysia recorded 4.3 million visitor arrivals from China, representing a 25.9 per cent year-on-year increase. This growth underscores China’s importance to Malaysia’s tourism expansion strategy and highlights the positive momentum leading into VM2026.
The introduction of the Shanghai–Tawau scheduled service further supports Malaysia’s VM2026 objectives by improving international accessibility and expanding connectivity to key destinations in East Malaysia. Enhanced air links are expected to sustain tourism momentum, encourage repeat visitation and strengthen Sabah’s position as a compelling destination for international travellers. These efforts also contribute to showcasing Malaysia’s diverse attractions, rich culinary heritage, vibrant festivals and renowned hospitality, while supporting initiatives to increase visitor arrivals and tourism spending from priority markets.
Tourism Malaysia extends its full support to Juneyao Air on the launch of this new service and looks forward to collaborating on joint promotional initiatives to highlight Malaysia’s diverse travel experiences to potential travellers in Shanghai and the surrounding regions.
