by AZALEA AZUAR / pic by BERNAMA
AIRASIA Group Bhd has launched a new route from Penang to Melaka in conjunction with Visit Melaka Year 2019 (VMY2019).
Upon its inaugural touchdown to the Melaka International Airport at 2.25pm yesterday from Penang International Airport, which left at 1.20pm, flight AK 6284’s Airbus A320 aircraft was welcomed by a water cannon salute.
According to Melaka Chief Minister (CM)Adly Zahari, Melaka was visited by 17.02 million tourists in 2018, in which 33.41% were international travellers.
“This year, our target is to hit 20 million tourists. Under the VMY2019 initiative, we have introduced a variety of attractive accommodation packages and interesting activities to cater to more international and local tourists. We look forward to welcome more visitors to Melaka through AirAsia’s network,” the CM said.
Other than Adly, the guests on board were greeted by Deputy Primary Industries Minister and Hang Tuah Jaya MP Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin; Melaka Public Works, Transport and Public Facilities exco member Datuk Mohd Sofi Abdul Wahab; Melaka Human Resource and Community exco member G Saminathan; AirAsia Bhd CEO Riad Asmat and AirAsia Group regional commercial head Amanda Woo.
“This is a proud day for AirAsia and the people of two Unesco world heritage sites and cities of Penang and Melaka. The new route not only provides a boost to local tourism, but also contributes to long-lasting economic growth for the two cities,” said Riad.
Riad believes that this route will include more travelling options for the people of Melaka, especially those who want to travel to East Malaysia or within the Asean region.
“We wish to thank the state government and all our partners for their support in making this route possible and look forward to exploring more opportunities to further grow our presence in Melaka,” he said, expressing his gratitude.
The routes for Penang to Melaka and vice versa are available daily.
The Penang-Melaka route, which uses the flight number AK 6284, departed from Penang International Airport at 1:20pm yesterday and arrived in Melaka International Airport at 2:25pm, while the Melaka to Penang route with the flight number AK 6285 departed at 2:50pm and arrived at 4pm.
Currently, AirAsia is offering a 20% discount for all seats and flights for its BigPay customers.
Customers are able to book via website atwww.airasia.com and the AirAsia mobile app from today until July 7 for flights from July to Nov 21, 2019.