Asian airlines ramp up flights as travel returns

Asian airlines are ramping up flights and special offers as travel demand returns.

Carriers and travel agents around the region have told Reuters they're seeing a surge in bookings.

That as travel restrictions lift.

Malaysia and Vietnam both allowed domestic flights to resume from this week, after months of strict lockdowns.

India is lifting a cap on internal flights.

And Singapore, Thailand and Fiji are all opening without quarantine for vaccinated travelers from some countries.

Now carriers including Singapore Airlines and Qantas are increasing capacity.

Malaysia-based AirAsia said traffic to its mobile app surged 140% after domestic curbs were lifted.

A return to full normality is still a long way off, however, particularly for international travel.

Thailand expects to welcome just 100,000 tourists this year - down from 40 million in 2019.

International air travel in the region was at just 4% of 2019 levels in August.

Industry body IATA says a recovery for overseas flights won't happen until some way into next year.