AirAsia flies to Sihanoukville, its 50th unique route

By NUR HAZIQAH A MALEK

AirAsia Bhd yesterday launched its inaugural flight to Sihanoukville, Cambodia, from Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2), the low-cost carrier’s 50th unique route.

AirAsia will fly to Sihanoukville four times a week as the Malaysian carrier continues to expand its reach within Asean countries.

AirAsia commercial chief Spencer Lee said the services to Sihanoukville have received support from Cambodia Airports, Tourism of Cambodia and local authorities.

“With Sihanoukville added onto our extensive network map of over 120 destinations, we hope to grow this city to be a popular tourist destination that enables travellers from the region to experience a hidden side of Asean that has yet to be discovered.

“More importantly, through this direct route, we want to open up air travel for the people of Sihanoukville to explore Asean and the world using our wide connectivity across 27 countries,” he said in a statement.

AirAsia is Asia’s largest low-cost carrier in terms of passengers and destinations. AirAsia, which began its operations in 2001, has grown from two aircraft to 79 planes.

Meanwhile, AirAsia also welcomed its first flight from Shenzhen to Langkawi yesterday. Flight AK 1713 was received at Langkawi International Airport by Langkawi Development Authority (LADA) CEO Datuk Azizan Noordin.

The thrice-weekly direct flight is AirAsia’s third international route from Langkawi after Singapore and Guangzhou. It is also the airline’s seventh route from Langkawi besides Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor Baru, Kuching, Singapore and Guangzhou.

AirAsia CEO Aireen Omar said: “We are pleased to welcome the inaugural flight from Shenzhen to Langkawi this morning. We have flown over one million guests into Langkawi this year, and we anticipate the number of inbound guests will continue to grow even further with this new route.

“We are also working closely with LADA to establish Langkawi as an international hub and promote the beautiful island as a top holiday destination for China visitors,” she said.