Batik Air will have 10 direct flights to Jeddah starting from February 2024. — HAIDAN/Unsplash
In Batik Air’s continuous effort to establish the Kuala Lumpur International Airport as an umrah hub, the local airline has recently announced that it will be offering more flights to Saudi Arabia starting next month.
The airline’s non-stop flights between Kuala Lumpur and Jeddah began operations on Aug 15, 2023 to cater to the growing demand of umrah travellers departing from Malaysia. From three flights per week, the flight frequencies will soon be increased to 10 per week.
By July 2024, an additional four flights to Madinah will also be introduced.
This was revealed by Datuk Chandran Rama Muthy, group strategy director of Batik Air and Lion Group, at the Batik Air Fly To Middle East And Europe event held at The Saujana Hotel Kuala Lumpur recently.
More than 100 travel operators from Indonesia and Malaysia who specialise in umrah pilgrimage travel were present at the event, which was also attended by Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan, the deputy minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry.
The aforementioned 10 flights to Jeddah will include connecting flights from Banda Aceh, Medan, Padang, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Bali, Surabaya, Makassar, Pekan Baru and Batam. All these Indonesian routes will include a transit at KLIA.
“We hope that Indonesian umrah travellers will seize this opportunity to explore Kuala Lumpur during their transit, whether before going to or after returning from Jeddah,” said Chandran.
In conjunction with this, Batik Air encourages tour operators to take advantage of the umrah travel packages that include a one-night stay in KL, which are inclusive of hotel transfers, meals, accommodation, and transportation to KLCC.
Through this collaborative effort with the travel agents, Batik Air, together with the Lion Air Group, strives to continue promoting KLIA as the central hub for umrah journeys – which, as stated by Chandran, has been Batik Air’s objective since its inception.
Several flights from Indonesia, such as Batam (pictured), will transit in Kuala Lumpur for the connecting flight to Jeddah. — MASGATOTKACA/Wikimedia Commons
