Senai Airport To Go International Again

JOHOR BAHARU, May 7(Bernama)- International flights are to resume from the Senai Airport here after a lapse of almost a year. Firefly Sdn Bhd, the low cost carrier, has confirmed that it will introduce it's maiden flight to the Indonesian cities of Surabaya and Bandung on Aug 12 and Aug 16 respectively. It will also fly to Bangkok, at the end of the year.

The Senai Airport used to be the southern hub of budget airline AirAsia's international operations, with flights to Macau, Bangkok and Jakarta until it halted the services in the middle of last year. Sriwijaya, the Indonesia-based airline, also operated a flight to Surabaya from Senai but stopped doing so in August last year. Since then, the Senai Airport has only catered to domestic flights but with Firefly's latest confirmation, the Johor state government's efforts to turn it into an international destination, is picking up pace.

The Johor Tourism Department Director, Dr Shaari Mohd Nooh said that Firefly, a subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines, is serious in wanting to make the Senai Airport its southern hub. "Firefly will have two planes for the international flights and a set of crew permanently stationed here," he added. He was speaking after launching the Johor Travel Fair 2011 at the Sutera Mall here on Friday.

Shaari also said that China Airlines is interested in flying to Senai from the southern city of Guangzhou and is now in talks with the Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation for landing rights. "Many Chinese citizens apply for visas at the Malaysian Consulate in Guangzhou. So, it's natural, that they want to fly out from Guangzhou airport. "Having more international flights into Senai Airport will only increase tourist arrivals into Johor," he added.

-Bernama.