AirAsia signs Cooperation Framework with Fuzhou City Government to turn Fuzhou Airport as a gateway hub to Southeast Asia

Photo Caption: Mr. Lin Baojin, member of the CPC Standing Committee of CPC Fujian Provincial Committee and Secretary of the Fuzhou Municipal Party Committee (Third from the left )；Mr. Wu Xiande, Deputy Secretary of the Fuzhou Municipal Party Committee and Mayor of Fuzhou (Third from the right); Mr. Lan Wen, member of the Fuzhou Municipal Government Leading Party Group，Deputy Secretary of the Party Working Committee and Director of the Fuzhou New Area Management Committee（Second from the right）；Mr. Zheng Yu, Deputy Mayor of Fuzhou Municipal People's Government（First from the right）；Ms. Karen Chan, AirAsia Group Chief Commercial Officer（Fourth from the left）; Mr. Frank Tang, AirAsia China General Manager(Second from the left)；Mr. Chen Huahua, Director of Business Development of AirAsia China (First from the left)

FUZHOU, 24 May 2023 - AirAsia signed a cooperation framework agreement with the Fuzhou Municipal People's Government recently, aiming to jointly promote the high quality development of Fuzhou's Civil Aviation and turn Fuzhou Airport into a gateway hub for domestic transportation to Southeast Asia.

Mr. Lin Baojin, member of the CPC Standing Committee of CPC Fujian Provincial Committee and Secretary of the Fuzhou Municipal Party Committee, said: "In recent years, under the promotion of President Xi Jinping and President Joko Widodo, China and Indonesia have established a comprehensive strategic partnership. Fujian Province attaches great importance to cooperation with Southeast Asia. Recently, the Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Zhou Zuyi led a delegation group to visit Indonesia to implement the consensus of the two countries, and promote cooperation in various fields at a higher level.

"As the capital of Fujian Province, Fuzhou conscientiously implements the deployment requirements made by the Central Party Committee, the Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government. We are focusing on building a modern international city, accelerating the construction of the "Two Countries, Two Parks" between China and Southeast Asia under the Fuzhou Airport Phase II expansion projects. Currently, there are frequent traffic, economic and trade exchanges between Fuzhou, Fujian and Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia. It is hoped that AirAsia will deepen cooperation with Fuzhou, increase capacity allocation, accelerate route deployment, strengthen supporting business cooperation, help Fuzhou Airport in becoming a hub for Southeast Asia and promote the high-quality development of Fuzhou's aviation industry. I am also hoping we could boost economic and trade along the 'Belt and Road Initiative' countries and regions." Mr. Lin Baojin said.

AirAsia Group Chief Commercial Officer Ms. Karen Chan said: "Fujian Province, especially Fuzhou, has a long history and deep connection to Southeast Asia. Demands of trading, economic and cultural exchange are strong between these two areas. As the largest low-cost airline in the region, AirAsia has always been committed to bringing high-quality and low-cost travel services to a wider group of passengers and communities.

"I would also like to thank the Fuzhou Municipal Government and Fuzhou Changle Airport for their great support to AirAsia. We hope that through this cooperation, we can build an air bridge between Fuzhou and Southeast Asia. We believe that in the near future, travellers in Fuzhou can easily connect to hub airports in Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines at their doorstep using AirAsia's services, connecting to over 130 destinations within our extensive network."

Mr. Frank Tang, AirAsia China General Manager, together with leaders from Fuzhou City and Fuzhou New Area, including Lan Wen, Huang Jianxiong, Zheng Yu and Zhang Fan，also joined the discussion.

Since its first entry into mainland China in 2005, AirAsia has focused on developing point-to-point direct flights from Southeast Asia to China. It spared no effort to promote the concept of low cost travel and Asean destinations. Upon mainland's reopening at the beginning of this year, AirAsia has gradually resumed the operation and sales of 34 routes at 16 flight points in mainland China. AirAsia operates 205 weekly mainland China flights at present, which has returned to the level of 63% before Covid. This number is expected to reach 100% by July.

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