Travelers can fly from Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, and Manila without needing to catch a ferry out of Hong Kong.
Macau’s skyline and Guia Hill as seen from Macau Tower. (Photo: Macau Photo Agency)
Ending a nearly three-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Asia’s most popular low-cost carrier has restarted passenger services to Macau from two of its key Southeast Asian gateways, with the Philippine capital following suit next Thursday on March 2. The airline is now flying Kuala Lumpur–Macau twice weekly on Tuesdays and Saturdays, taking around four hours to cover the distance between the two cities. Outbound flights depart at 4:35 p.m. and arrive in Macau at 8:25 p.m.; the jet will then take off at 9:05 p.m. and return to Kuala Lumpur at 1:05 a.m. the same night. Malaysia was one of the top 10 international tourist destinations and source markets for Macau before the pandemic.
At the same time, Thai AirAsia has just resumed flights between Bangkok Don Mueang and Macau, with four services a week scheduled every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. On those days, passengers will leave Don Mueang at 2:10 p.m. to reach Macau at 5:45 p.m. after two hours and 35 minutes in the air. The return flight is slightly longer, clocking in at just under three hours: travelers will depart Macau at 6:25 p.m. and arrive back in Bangkok at 8:20 p.m. The inaugural post-pandemic flight on this Thai AirAsia route last weekend saw a load factor of 100 percent both ways. AirAsia as a whole has already restored almost 20 routes to mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau, reconnecting passengers to popular holiday destinations across Southeast Asia.
From March 2, Philippines AirAsia’s thrice-weekly services between Manila and Macau will resume, involving a short hop of two hours and 25 minutes each way. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, flights will leave Manila at 4:50 p.m. and touch down in Macau at 7:15 p.m. After a turnaround time of less than an hour, Manila-bound passengers will take off at 8:10 p.m. to land at Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 10:35 p.m.
The recently relaunched flights can be booked on the airasia Super App and website. The budget airline is working toward reopening more routes this year as it continues to add flights to its schedule from March to meet significant pent-up travel demand out of China.
