AirAsia Philippines to Resume Manila - Kota Kinabalu Flights in September

(30 May 2022, 13:07 +07)  AirAsia Philippines has unveiled plans to resume flights between Manila (MNL) and Kota Kinabalu (BKI), Sabah.

The MNL-BKI flights will operate two times per week on Tuesdays and Saturdays, from 5 September 2022.

The airline also has plans to resume flights to Hong Kong, Indonesia, other destinations in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Ricky Isla, CEO of AirAsia Philippines, said, “The resumption of flights from Philippines to key ASEAN destinations starting with Kota Kinabalu signifies our recovery, especially in the international market. We hope to support the revival of the tourism and economy of Sabah with the resumption of the Kota Kinabalu flights. We believe that the easing of safety protocols and test requirements have also revived the urge to travel among Filipinos.”

AirAsia A320. Picture by Steven Howard of TravelNewsAsia.com

A survey commissioned by AirAsia Philippines in December 2021 revealed that Filipinos are willing to travel in smaller groups this year with their families (69%), partners (40%), and close friends (24%) should international travel protocols relax.

Top destinations picked by Filipino travellers include Singapore (73%) and Japan (71%).

Ranking ninth in the list of top preferred international destinations of Filipinos is Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, with 47% of the participants including the destination in their top choices.

Puan Noredah Othman, the CEO of Sabah Tourism Board, said, “We are pleased to welcome the return of AirAsia flights from Philippines to Kota Kinabalu. This is AirAsia's second international flight to Kota Kinabalu after Singapore. We are excited that international flights are resuming. STB will continue to promote Sabah as a holiday destination to the Philippines market, especially to those interested in climbing Mount Kinabalu and other niche tourism products.”

Passengers arriving in the Philippines must download and install the Traze Contact Tracing App and register for the e-Health Declaration Card (e-HDC) through the Bureau of Quarantine’s OneHealthPass (OHP).

AirAsia also encourages all passengers to migrate and upgrade to the all-in-one airasia Super App for a seamless and contactless journey.

Effective 1 April 2022, AirAsia’s counter check-in service has been strictly for exempt categories of passengers at all airports in Malaysia. Exempt passengers include senior citizens aged 70 and above, people with disabilities registered with the Welfare Department, young passengers travelling alone (unaccompanied minors), group bookings of 10 people and more and charter flight passengers.