Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) continues to enhance its connectivity and position Malaysia as the preferred global hub by welcoming IndiGo, India’s largest airline. The airline’s inaugural flight to KUL recently flew 180 passengers on its Airbus A320 aircraft from Delhi, India. KUL is IndiGo’s 12th international destination. The historic moment of the aircraft’s arrival at KUL’s second terminal, klia2, was witnessed by the minister of transport, YB Loke Siew Fook; acting group chief executive officer of Malaysia Airports, Raja Azmi Raja Nazuddin and Chief Commercial Officer of IndiGo, William Boulter.
YB Loke, in his officiating speech, said, “Klia2 has seen a 6.9% passenger growth on October 2018 for the last twelve-month cycle. In 2017, Malaysia has received more than 1.4 million inbound passengers from India through our local carriers. It was a 13.5% growth from 2016. India has always been an attractive market to Malaysian carriers. It is my aspiration to see the continued growth of Malaysian aviation, and I have no doubt that the addition of India's largest airline to the KUL family will help contribute to strengthening the airport’s and Malaysia's position as a strong hub within the region.”
Azmi congratulated the new airline partner and said, ”India is one of our target destination markets in growing the connectivity at KUL. In its traffic forecast for 2017-2040, Airports Council International projects that India will be the second fastest growing country in the world for passenger traffic at 7.5%. Based on this, Malaysia Airports have increased connectivity at KUL.”
Speaking on the new flight route, Boulter said, “We are delighted to receive a warm welcome from Kuala Lumpur International Airport and the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board. IndiGo will operate its daily non-stop flights from Kuala Lumpur- Bengaluru and Kuala Lumpur-Delhi, starting November 15. Malaysia provides a complete package for business travelers, holiday makers, and the meeting and conference segment. We see great potential on the India-Malaysia route due to the extensive cultural, business and tourism links between the two countries.” He further added, “IndiGo has completed 12 years of successful operations in the India market and adding Kuala Lumpur to its network will further augment the regional connectivity that we aspire to provide to our customers. IndiGo will continue to provide an on-time, courteous and hassle-free service, and affordable fares to our customers, as always.”
Prior to the aircraft arrival from Delhi, as an expression of appreciation for the support given, passengers departing to Delhi from klia2 were celebrated with a cake-cutting ceremony hosted by the senior management of IndiGo at the check-in counters, a traditional symbolic to commemorate a memorable event followed by the arrival of the flight at 10.40am local time. IndiGo will be operating its non-stop flights between Kuala Lumpur (KUL)- Bengaluru (BLR) and Kuala Lumpur (KUL)- Delhi (DEL) daily from klia2, the second terminal of KL International Airport.