AirAsia has named Langkawi as the airline's
next international base, a move that will likely see tourist traffic to the
Malaysian island take off.
Announced at the Langkawi International
Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2015, the airline’s group CEO, Tony
Fernandes, said: “We are very excited about this announcement. We plan to put
five planes in Langkawi and generate approximately one million to 1.5 million
passengers through Langkawi very quickly.
“We will obviously focus on ASEAN
destinations and gradually expand the connectivity to China and India, which
are both very strong routes. It is exciting news for the state of Kedah and
exciting news for job creation as we will base pilots and cabin crew in
Langkawi.
“By making it a hub, we hope to contribute
further to the growth of traffic of this airport,” he added.
The LCC currently operates three routes from
Langkawi with a total of 98 flights weekly. Langkawi will become AirAsia’s
sixth international hub in Malaysia after Kuala Lumpur, Kuching, Johor Bahru,
Penang and Kota Kinabalu.
Aireen Omar, CEO of AirAsia, said: “Today is
a big day for us at AirAsia. We have been campaigning for a while now, and we
are pleased to know the government and the airport are beginning to see the
benefits of LCCs and understand that with the right cost structure, we can grow
the airport and churn new businesses.
"We
have a great airport here in Langkawi but it is under-utilised. We firmly
believe Langkawi have a huge potential to grow as an international hub.”
-TTG Asia.
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