TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Minangkabau International Airport in Padang Pariaman, West Sumatra has officially reopened the international route of Padang-Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, October 1. The route had been halted for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Alhamdulillah today, coinciding with the 77th anniversary of West Sumatra Province, the first Air Asia flight of the Padang-Kuala Lumpur route has officially started the operation," said the executive general manager of Minangkabau International Airport, Siswanto, in Padang Pariaman, Saturday.

In the initial international flight, 135 passengers arrived from Malaysia and 105 people departed from Padang to Kuala Lumpur.

Currently, there is only one airline serving the route. Siswanto hopes that other airlines will follow in the future. "Previously, there were several international flights in Padang, such as the Padang-Singapore route and umrah direct flights from Padang to Jeddah," he said.

Meanwhile, the chief of airport authority of region VI, Endah Purnama Sari, was grateful for the reopening of the international route. "This is the best moment after Covid-19 [cases] is decreasing, hopefully, other airlines will open international flights," she said.

West Sumatra Tourism head, Luhur Budianda, seconded Endah's opinion, saying that this was the best present for West Sumatra which is celebrating its 77th anniversary. "Finally, Minangkabau International Airport has been reopened as the entry point of international arrivals," he said.

He hopes that international travelers, especially from Malaysia, will go back to West Sumatra, so the people's economy in the tourism sector will increase.

Luhur thanked all the parties involved in the reopening of the flight route." This is a fascinating synergy for us, as all parties work together and do maximum efforts to reopen the entry point," he remarked.

He said that West Sumatra destinations are ready to welcome visitors and are preparing 2023 tourism programs through Visit Beautiful West Sumatera 2023.

Air Asia officially serves the Padang-Kuala Lumpur flights twice a week every Tuesday and Saturday.

Based on ticket provider websites on Saturday, the ticket price was set starting at Rp850,000 per person with a flight duration of 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Antara

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