KULAI: Some 126 people have departed on the first chartered flight from Johor to Bhutan on Saturday (Dec 20).
Malaysian Chinese Tourism Association (MCTA) Johor chapter chairman Edwin Tay Kian Chuan said the passengers took off from Senai International Airport at about 1.30am Saturday.
“This is a good development for Johor’s tourism, and we hope to see more airlines operating direct flights from Johor in the future.
“We also hope to see more inbound flights from other countries, such as China, Taiwan and Japan, into Johor.
“This is also timely with the upcoming Visit Johor and Visit Malaysia 2026 tourism campaigns,” he said after witnessing the departure of the Bhutan Airlines flight.
He said MCTA strongly supports the development and believes that charter services are an important way to explore emerging tourism markets and enhance the regional aviation network.
Tay said the flight from Johor to Bhutan, a country often referred to as the "Kingdom of Happiness", takes about four hours.
“The passengers will be returning to Johor next Thursday (Dec 25), which also happens to be Christmas,” he said, adding that they will be experiencing winter.
He added that more chartered flights are also expected to be offered from the airport here in May, allowing visitors to experience autumn in the landlocked country.
