Malaysia's Flying Fox, Garuda Indonesia eye Medan regional hub

Flying Fox Airways and Garuda Indonesia are both reportedly considering developing Medan Kuala Namu, in North Sumatra, into a regional hub in the near future. Start-up Flying Fox, whose inaugural flight in mid-December was delayed over operational shortcomings at Ipoh Airport, is planning to offer Ipoh to Dhaka via Medan Kuala Namu flights. “The airline is still processing the license [to allow Flying Fox to use the airport as its hub],” Airport general manager Tengku Said Ridwan told the Jakarta Post. Malaysian Consul General, Ahmad Rozian Abdul Gani, confirmed the plans. “I heard that there were some technical issues in the license application process in Ipoh. But all the issues are expected to be overcome by June 2014 at the latest,” he said. Garuda is also in the processing of finalizing its paperwork to use the airport as a hub for flights to Jeddah. Located on the site of what was previously an oil palm plantation of PT. Perkebunan Nusantara II Tanjung Morawa, Medan Kuala Namu International Airport is expected to become the new international transit centre for both Sumatra and the western part of Indonesia.

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Malaysian regional start-up, Flying Fox Airways, to launch in December

Flying Fox Airways (Ipoh) is a new Malaysian carrier that plans to begin twice weekly operations from Ipoh to Medan Kuala Namu on December 13 using a B737-400 operated by Sriwijaya Air (SJ, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta). The Sayacinta Airpost reports that the airline's original plan to operate the flight on November 8 fell through when it failed to supply the requisite paperwork. Using Kuala Namu as its hub, the startup plans to add Dhaka flights from December with Shenzhen and Macau Int'l to follow from March 2014 on. In the long term, Flying Fox hopes to add Singapore Changi from 2015. As Sriwijaya Air's GSA and airline partner in Ipoh, Flying Fox hopes to market Ipoh airport and Perak tourism to the international travel and hospitality markets.

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