HISTORY was made last week as the first international flights touched down and took off at Avalon Airport.<\/p>\n
The AirAsia X flight from Kuala Lumpur touched down on schedule at 8.15am on Wednesday and carried 317 passengers, including AirAsia X Group chief executive officer Nadda Buranisiri, AirAsia X Malaysia chief executive officer Benyamin
\nIsmail, Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia Andrew Goledzinowski and Linfox Airports chief executive officer David Fox.<\/p>\n
Air Asia X\u2019s first service from Avalon to Kuala Lumpur departed about two hours later, and the airline is now operating twice daily flights.<\/p>\n
Speaking on the tarmac after his arrival, Mr Ismail said it only took him about 10 to 15 minutes to get through immigration and customs, and he had been \u201cwaiting for many years to find an airport that’s simple and easy to use\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is something we\u2019ve always wanted, we\u2019ve always believed in having a good relationship with airports.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is really good for passengers \u2013 you don\u2019t have to come four to five hours early.\u201d He said passenger numbers were strong, with the first flights in and out at 82 per cent and 85 per cent capacity, respectively.<\/p>\n
Mr Fox said it was \u201csurreal\u201d that Avalon was now an international airport, and he had been in talks with between 10 and 15 other airlines.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the beginning \u2013 one step at time, as they say \u2013 but the reality is we\u2019re here to stay, and we\u2019re here to play.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said AirAsia X would announce one or two more daily destinations \u201cat some point in the very near future\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t need to actually have 100 planes in here on a daily basis at the moment; I need to make sure my kids have 100 planes here in 25 years.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the airport would be a popular destination for travellers from Kuala Lumpur.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho wouldn\u2019t want to come down to the Bellarine Peninsula? Who wouldn\u2019t want to go to Bells Beach? Seven and a half hours, you\u2019re in Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
HISTORY was made last week as the first international flights touched down and took off at Avalon Airport. The AirAsia X flight from Kuala Lumpur touched down on schedule at 8.15am on Wednesday and carried 317 passengers, including AirAsia X Group chief executive officer Nadda Buranisiri, AirAsia X Malaysia chief executive officer Benyamin Ismail, Australian […]<\/p>\n