Four times weekly direct Bhubaneswar-Kuala Lumpur flights

Bhubaneswar: Direct flights were launched from Bhubaneswar to Kuala Lumpur for the first time today by AirAsia, who said it is committed to enhance connectivity in India for the rising number of leisure and business travellers.

"As a group, India is an important market to us and with the launch of this new unique route, it shows our commitment towards enhancing our connectivity in the country," said Aireen Omar, Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia.

AirAsia's new "milestone" route will have four times weekly direct flights from Bhubaneswar. It will offer guests an experience of the rich culture, food and sights of Kuala Lumpur, airlines officials said.

"We are very excited to be here in Bhubaneswar as the first international airline in the world to offer this exclusive direct route between Kuala Lumpur and Bhubaneswar," the CEO said.

"Furthermore, recent announcement of multiple-entry eVisa facility valid up to 15 days by the Malaysian government is indeed a great news to all leisure and business travellers from India. We can foresee a steep increase in tourist arrival in the near future that will facilitate stronger tourism and economic growth for both countries," Aireen told reporters.

"As an airline, we are pleased to accommodate this growth with our best flight connectivity in and out of India through the world's best inflight service at the region's lowest fares," the AirAsia CEO added.

Expressing happiness over the direct international flight operations from Bhubaneswar, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said this was possible due to relentless efforts of the state government by facilitating international flight operators.

"Now people from Odisha can directly travel abroad from Bhubaneshwar airport. I hope this new connectivity ushers in a new era of progress for our state," he said.
Earlier, a receiving ceremony was held at Biju Patnaik International Airport to celebrate the arrival of flight AK31 which flew into Bhubaneswar late last night.

Guests can make use of the optional Fly-Thru service to connect to flights with their baggage checked-through to the final destination without hassle of immigration clearance at the transit hub. With this service, people of Odisha can now travel seamlessly to most cities in Asia and in Australia like Melbourne, Auckland, Bali, Bangkok or Haneda from Bhubaneswar via Kuala Lumpur, the airline said in a statement.

AirAsia Group also connects Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam, Kolkata, Kochi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Tiruchirappalli, New Delhi directly to Kuala Lumpur, and directly to Bangkok from Chennai, Bengaluru, Kochi and Kolkata, it added.