The Malaysia Airlines opens daily direct flight route from Changsha to Kuala Lumpur. (Photo/Zou Yan)

The newly opened route is serviced by the Boeing 737-8 aircraft, offering one daily round-trip flight to further enhance capacity between Changsha and Kuala Lumpur. The outbound flight MH521 departs from Changsha at 2:05 a.m. and arrives in Kuala Lumpur at 6:50 a.m. local time. The return flight MH520, departs from Kuala Lumpur at 8:00 p.m. local time and arrives in Changsha at 1:05 a.m. the following day.

2026 marks the start of the Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign. This route is Malaysia Airlines' first scheduled service to Hunan. Following its opening, direct flights between Changsha and Kuala Lumpur will reach three or four per day. This will further cement Kuala Lumpur's status as the destination with the highest passenger traffic among Changsha's international routes. It also marks the further strengthening of the air express corridor between Hunan and Malaysia and ASEAN.

The opening of the route will facilitate the two-way linkage of cultural, tourism, and commercial resources between the two places. (Photo/Zou Yan)

Leveraging the Kuala Lumpur hub, Hunan travelers can seamlessly connect to popular ASEAN destinations such as Penang, Langkawi, Bangkok, and Singapore, meeting diverse travel needs including leisure vacations, academic pursuits, and business trips. Malaysian and ASEAN travelers can also reach China's central and central-western hubs via Changsha, driving two-way connectivity of cultural, tourism, and business resources between the two regions.

Currently, Changsha Huanghua International Airport has been capitalizing on the peak summer travel season by increasing frequencies on three popular international routes serving Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, and Singapore. This move not only meets the robust market demand for travel but also further enhances the accessibility of the central China international aviation hub, providing solid aviation support for Hunan's deepening of opening-up and promotion of economic and trade cooperation and cultural and tourism exchanges.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government. www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Yu Jiangjiang

Chinese source: Chinanews