A new Sichuan Airlines route connecting Haikou, the capital of south China’s Hainan Province, with Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, was inaugurated with the initial flight taking off from Haikou’s Meilan International Airport on the morning of September 21, increasing the number of weekly direct flights between the two cities to four.

Sichuan Airlines crew and airport staff celebrate the opening of the Haikou ⇌ Kuala Lumpur route. (Photo: Zheng Guangping / Hinews)

The new route will operate twice a week, with flight 3U3749 departing from Haikou on Thursdays at 10:55 and arriving in Kuala Lumpur at 14:50 local time, and the return flight 3U3750 departing Kuala Lumpur at 15:50 on Sundays and arriving in Haikou at 19:15 local time.

Travelers departing for Kuala Lumpur check in at Haikou Meilan International Airport. (Photo: Haikou Meilan International Airport)

Meilan Airport resumed the Malindo Air Haikou ⇌ Kuala Lumpur route on April 8, which operates weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Both Hainan and Malaysia are tropical island regions located in geographic proximity and offering similar travel & cultural resources. The new flights connecting Haikou and Kuala Lumpur will continue to enhance people-to-people exchanges and trade cooperation between the two cities.

Currently, Meilan Airport offers a total of 19 international and regional routes from Haikou to 11 destinations including Phnom Penh, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, London, Sydney, Seoul, Samoa, Melbourne, China's Hong Kong and Macao, and other locations.