Denpasar (Antara Bali) - Batik Air has opened new route linking Bali and Chennai of India via Kuala Lumpur of Malaysia, to meet growing demand for direct flight to Bali.
The subsidiary of the Lion Air Group serves the route once everyday, state owned airport operator Angkasa Pura I`s General Manager of International Airport of Ngurah Rai, Bali, Yanus Suprayogi said here on Tuesday.
Yanus said the new route is expected to contribute to growing number of foreign tourists to Bali especially from India.
"We strongly support each airline opening new routes to serve tourists to Bali," he said, adding Angkasa Pura I had commitment to draw more tourists to Indonesia," Yanus said.
Yanus said the number of tourists from India visiting Bali totaled 258,000 or 4 percent of the total of 5.85 million foreign tourists visiting the country in the first half of this year.
Chief Executive of Batik Air Achmad Luthfie said the airline had also served international flights between Bali and Perth, Australia, and next month the airline will start serving flights to China.
Chennai , formerly Madras, the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu, is one of the largest cities in India .
Batik Air uses 180-seat Boeing 737-900 aircraft to serve the Bali- Chennai route. (WDY)
