airasia resumes bangkok-bali flight officially

Low-cost airline AirAsia officially resumed the Bangkok-Bali route yesterday, becoming the first to connect the two cities since the pandemic halted all international flights to Bali.

Flight FD-396 from Don Mueang Airport landed at Ngurah Rai Airport carrying 128 passengers - all foreigners and mostly Thai nationals.

The flight arrived at 11:53 a.m. yesterday and returned to Bangkok at 12:56 a.m. with 29 passengers, this time under the code name FD-397. Return flights are now scheduled every Tuesday and Saturday (may be added in the future, subject to airline advice).

Chairman and CEO of public airport operator PT Angkasa Pura I, Faik Fahmi, welcomed the resumption of flights between the two most popular tourist destinations in Southeast Asia.

"Because [both are] tourist destinations, we hope that reconnecting the two cities can further encourage global citizens to travel safely and comfortably, of course following health protocols," he said. .

Thailand is the third Southeast Asian country to be officially connected to the Island of the Gods, after Singapore and Malaysia. Before the pandemic, demand for flights between Thailand and Bali was particularly high, the airline said in a statement.