Petaling Jaya, 14 March 2018 – Malindo Air will commence its maiden flight OD328 from Penang to Banda Aceh starting 15 March 2018. The flight will depart at 10:10a.m. from Penang International Airport and touched down in Sultan Iskandar Muda (Banda Aceh) International Airport at 11:10a.m. (local time). The flight time is 2 hours, and Penang is one hour ahead of Banda Aceh.

The flight is scheduled three times a week on every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, operated with Malindo Air fleet ATR72-600. Malindo Air flight OD329 departs from Sultan Iskandar Muda International Airport at 11:30a.m. (local time) and is scheduled to arrive Penang International Airport at 2:40p.m.

Chandran Rama Muthy, CEO of Malindo Air said, “Our continuous effort to strengthen our network and connectivity lead us to start flying from Penang to Banda Aceh. We see strong potential of trade and leisure travelers on this route and we believe this new route will help to foster stronger development in both tourist and business travelers between the two destinations.”

“Passenger may also fly to Melaka and Hat Yai, Thailand with direct flights from Penang. Otherwise, there are more than 70 flights available weekly from Penang to our hubs in Kuala Lumpur,” he added.

Malaysia Airports managing director Datuk Badlisham Ghazali said, “We are delighted that more and more airlines are opening up direct routes to other international airports in Malaysia apart from KLIA as this will further boost inbound tourism for the country. Airports play an important role in contributing to local economic development. An increase in passenger traffic will result in bigger commercial opportunities for the locals. Last year, Sultan Azlan Shah Airport, Ipoh handled 274,000 passengers and Penang International Airport handled 7.2 million passengers growing by 1.7% and 8.2% respectively from the previous year."

Banda Aceh is located on the northwestern tip of Indonesia at the mouth of Aceh River. The city is popular with attractive beaches, royal heritage sites and its coffee shops (serving brewed coffee).

On the other hand, Malindo Air will also resume its flight from Ipoh to Medan from 16 March 2018. Malindo Air flight OD330 is scheduled to depart from Sultan Azlan Shah Airport at 10:05a.m. and arrive at Kualanamu International Airport at 10:45a.m. (local time); Departing from Kualanamu International Airport at 11:20am (local time), flight OD331 is scheduled to arrive in Sultan Azlan Shah Airport at 13:35p.m. The flight time is 1 hour 40 minutes, and Penang is one hour ahead of Banda Aceh.

In conjunction with the announcement, Malindo Air is offering all-in one way introductory fares from Penang to Banda Aceh from RM189, and from Ipoh to Medan from RM169. The promotional fares include perks such as 15kg baggage allowance.