Connectivity between Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur and Amritsar, a holy city in the northwestern Indian state of Punjab, is set to experience a boost through the introduction of a new service by Malaysia Airlines.
The route, covering a distance of 2,657 mi. (2,309 nm)—which connects Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) with Amritsar's Sri Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport (ATQ)—currently has Batik Air Malaysia as the sole provider of nonstop flights, operating three per week.
However, AirAsia X has announced its plans to reinstate a 4X-weekly connection starting from Sept. 3, utilizing Airbus A330-300 aircraft. The long-haul LCC last served this route in April 2020.
Subsequently, Malaysia Airways is set to enter the market on Nov. 10, offering two roundtrips per week aboard Boeing 737-800 equipment. Amritsar will become the Oneworld alliance member’s seventh Indian destination alongside Bengaluru, Chennai, Cochin, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi.
As a result, the capacity provided through AirAsia X’s resumption and Malaysia Airline’s entrance to the market will swell the number of two-way seats between Kuala Lumpur and Amritsar from around 970 to more than 5,000 per week.
Amritsar lies about 15 mi. east of the border with Pakistan and has a population of around 1.4 million people. It is home of the Golden Temple, one of Sikhism's most spiritually significant and most visited gurudwaras.
The city is linked nonstop to nine international destinations at present—Birmingham, Doha, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, London Gatwick, Milan Malpensa, Rome Fiumicino, Sharjah and Singapore Changi—up from six points at this time in 2019.
Figures provided by Sabre Market Intelligence show that the United Arab Emirates was Amritsar’s largest overseas market in 2022, accounting for about 350,000 two-way O&D passengers. The UK was second on 136,000 passengers, followed by the U.S. on 47,500 passengers.
Malaysia Airlines’ flights will operate from KUL on Mondays and Fridays, departing at 11:00 p.m. and arriving at 2:30 a.m. the next day, according to OAG Schedules Analyser data. The return service from ATQ leaves on Tuesdays and Saturdays at 3:30 a.m. and arrives in Malaysia’s capital at 11:45 a.m.
Reservations for the route are as yet unavailable. The airline’s only service to Amritsar currently is through a codeshare with Vistara via New Delhi.
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