KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia has announced its plans to recommence flights to Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha in South India, with thrice-weekly flights starting from May 28, 2024.
This decision follows the airline's ongoing efforts to bolster air connectivity between Malaysia and India.
With this move, AirAsia continues its trend of expanding its route network between the two countries.
Since 2008, the airline has introduced 13 routes.
The upcoming Kuala Lumpur-Bhubaneswar flights will further augment its array of distinctive routes to India, joining the likes of Jaipur and Visakhapatnam.
"We are immensely pleased to continue our momentum of enhancing accessible connectivity to India, one of our most treasured markets and frequently visited countries.
"AirAsia remains steadfast in our commitment to explore more unique routes between our countries and further grow our footprint so that more of our guests can travel affordably.
"Bhubaneswar is a city that beckons tourists from near and far, renowned for the rich history and heritage deeply embedded in its culture and architecture, and we're thrilled to resume this long awaited route," Bo Lingam, the group chief executive officer of AirAsia Aviation Group Ltd said in a statement.
AirAsia's network of destinations has enabled more than five million guests to fly between India, Malaysia and beyond in the last six years alone.
According to the airline, this figure has seen a spike following the government's announcement of visa-free entry for Indian citizens visiting Malaysia.
AirAsia currently flies directly from Kuala Lumpur to 13 cities in all of India with 78 flights weekly to Trivandrum, Chennai, Tiruchirappalli, Kochi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur (flights to commence on April 21), Visakhapatnam (flights to commence on April 26) and Ahmedabad (flights to commence on May 1).
Medium haul affiliate airline AirAsia X Malaysia also provides two direct routes from Kuala Lumpur to New Delhi and Amritsar with eight flights weekly.
Tickets to Bhubaneswar are on sale from now till March 17, 2024, with a starting fare of only RM199* all-in-one-way.