KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 — The Perak government and AirAsia will form a joint committee to assess the feasibility of new flight routes for Sultan Azlan Shah Airport (LTSAS) in Ipoh, Utusan Malaysia reported today.
The move follows AirAsia’s decision to discontinue its Ipoh-Singapore route, announced two weeks ago.
State Tourism, Industry, Investment, and Corridor Development Committee Chairman Loh Sze Yee said the committee would include relevant agencies and stakeholders in the aviation sector.
“It will explore potential new routes, including destinations in East Malaysia, not just international options,” he reportedly said during a visit to LTSAS today.
Loh added that the state government was caught off guard by AirAsia’s decision, as it could affect funding earmarked to boost the airport’s capacity.
An RM58 million upgrade is expected to raise LTSAS’ capacity to 700,000 passengers annually, up from nearly 500,000 currently.
Efforts are underway to increase passenger traffic, Loh said, adding that he recently discussed the matter with AirAsia and Singapore-based airline Scoot.
“A direct two-point route may be challenging, so we are also considering making Ipoh a transit hub in a three-point route,” he added.
