Kuala Lumpur (TAN): Malaysia-based budget carrier Malindo Air has introduced a new flight to Varanasi, a city located in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, from Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur.
Varanasi, the holy city, became the tenth Indian destination for the airline, which already operates to Amritsar, New Delhi, Kochi, Mumbai, Tiruchirappali, Thiruvananthapuram, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Chennai.
The new flight, that will operate three times each week, is expected to meet the demand of both leisure and business travellers flying between the two destinations.
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“India is a significant market to us. Just as its neighbouring cities, the potential is foreseen on both, inbound and outbound travellers on leisure, business, as well as visiting friends and families purposes. However, Varanasi may have the added advantage in terms of demand as it is also primarily a sacred pilgrimage destination for Hindus around the world,” Chief Executive Officer, Malido Air, Chandran Rama Muthy said.
“We are honoured to be the only Malaysian carrier operating directly between Kuala Lumpur and Varanasi. I believe our objectives are in line with our government’s Tourism and Economic agenda, which is to entice more visitors into Malaysia hence boosting economic conditions and increasing passengers’ arrivals at KLIA, which is envisioned to be the main regional hub of Asia,” he added.
The inaugural flight that was flagged off by General Manager of Operations, Malindo Air, Mark Anthony, and Nishit Kumar Ujjwal, Counsellor – Community Affairs, Education and Labour, High Commission of India in Kuala Lumpur, was welcomed with a water cannon upon landing in Varanasi’s Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport.
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“Malindo is the first in Malaysia and the 4th in the Southeast Asia Region to introduce this route. This means that we can expect a further increase in passenger movements at KL International Airport (KUL),” Group Chief Executive Officer of Malaysia Airports, Raja Azmi Raja Nazuddin said.
“Last year, the overall total number of arriving and departing passengers that Malindo served for its India routes via KUL grew by 4.3% from January to June this year as compared to the same period in 2018. Not only that, KUL itself also saw an overall YTD 6.1% increase in passenger movements for the India routes as compared to the previous year. Therefore, I am positive that Malindo Air will do very well with the introduction of this new flight route,” he added.
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According to the schedule, flight OD 290 will depart Kuala Lumpur at 1900 hours, landing in Varanasi at 2110 hours, while the return flight OD 291 will take off from Varanasi at 2210 hours to reach Kuala Lumpur at 0530 hours next morning.
Varanasi, located on the banks of the river Ganga in northern India, is sacred to Hindu pilgrims.
