AirAsia will operate an international flight from Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia on Saturday, officials said. Currently, no international airlines fly from Port Blair’s Veer Savarkar International Airport.

Kesavan Sivanandam, Chief Airport and Customer Experience Officer, AirAsia, told PTI, “It is an important milestone as it will be the first ever international flight from Port Blair. Our motto is not only to look at commercial viability but also to connect people I would like to thank the local administration for all their support.”

Tour operators in Andaman believe that the launch of AirAsia flights to Malaysia will be a big change in the tourism sector in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Southeast Asia.

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“I would like to extend my sincere thanks and congratulations to AirAsia for taking this initiative to expand air connectivity from Andaman and Nicobar Islands to Southeast Asia. The Airports Authority of India has invested heavily in strengthening both ground and air navigation infrastructure to increase the region’s air connectivity, ” said Airport Director, Port Bliar, Devender Yadav.

“Tourism is the backbone of the economy of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and airports are one of the key enablers to boost tourism in the region. The collaborative and sustained efforts of all stakeholders will take civil aviation in the union territory to new heights,” he said.