SEPANG: China's flag-carrier airline Air China has officially commenced its direct international flight from Chengdu (Tianfu) to Kuala Lumpur to boost travel between China and Malaysia, and increase tourist traffic between both countries.
The inaugural flight, CA483 departed today from Chengdu Tianfu International Airport and landed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at 5.58pm.
More than 150 passengers from the inaugural flight were greeted by a ceremonial water cannon salute by KLIA's Airport Fire and Rescue Services (AFRS) firetrucks before being welcomed by Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.
"This (inaugural flight) shows that Malaysia is receiving a tremendous amount of support from Chinese tourists.
"Therefore we must continue to improve our services so that we are able to cater to all these tourists coming from across the world so that our country's economy will flourish," he said.
Also present at the arrival ceremony of the inaugural flight was China's Ambassador to Malaysia Ouyang Yujing.
Air China will operate four flights a week to and from Chengdu on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.