Port Blair will get international connectivity with AirAsia announcing a thrice-weekly Kuala Lumpur service from November 16.
With this launch, Port Blair becomes the 32nd Indian airport to have scheduled international flights, aviation analytics firm Cirium said. The new route will be the seventeenth operated by AirAsia Malaysia and its long haul arm AirAsia X between Kuala Lumpur and India, making them the largest foreign airline group in India by number of destinations.
Currently, Port Blair is connected to six domestic destinations and its airport handles around 3,000 passengers and 24 flights daily. The number increases during the winter season when airlines increase capacity. In the last fiscal, the airport handled 1.4 million passengers, reflecting a growth of 14.2 per cent over the previous year.
“The new international service will boost inbound tourism and marine exports from the islands. Before Covid Andaman & Nicobar Islands received 5.5 lakh tourists annually. This year we are expecting seven lakh tourists,” said Vishwendra, secretary, (tourism, aviation and fisheries), Andaman & Nicobar administration.
“We feel over time Andaman & Nicobar islands could serve as an alternative to Phuket or Maldives and become an attraction for foreign tourists for nature tourism and niche products like scuba diving or game fishing,” he added.
“We will connect Port Blair to over 130 plus destinations in the Asia Pacific and put it on the global tourism map,” said Suresh Nair, AirAsia’s general manager (South Asia).
Port Blair is among eighteen Indian cities where airlines from South East Asian airlines (belonging to ASEAN member States) can operate unlimited flights.
AirAsia operates on 29 routes to India from Malaysia and Thailand. Last year, it flew 1.3 million passengers from/to India to the rest of the world. In 2024 it carried over a million passengers to/from India.
“AirAsia remains steadfast in its commitment to provide more affordable connectivity to and from India as one of our biggest markets, since the start of 2024 alone, we’ve launched 8 new routes from India, with more to ensure in the coming months,” the airline said.