December 4, 2025 | 07:09 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Batik Air Malaysia will open a new flight route from Medan to Penang starting on December 8, 2025. Batik Air will add Penang as a destination from Kualanamu International Airport. Currently, Lion Air and AirAsia serve this airport.
The service will operate daily. Departure schedule from Kualanamu is at 6:45 PM WIB (Western Indonesia Time), and arrival from Penang is at 5:45 PM WIB. Tickets are available for booking through the official website and online travel agent (OTA) platforms.
The Acting President Director of PT Angkasa Pura Aviasi, Yosrizal Syamsuri, hopes that the opening of this route will further enhance people-to-people contact between the North Sumatra community and Malaysia, thereby boosting economic growth in both regions, especially foreign tourists from both countries.
It also encourages competition among airlines at Kualanamu to provide the best services to passengers, including competitive ticket prices, on-time departures, and enjoyable in-flight experiences. This aligns with the Kualanamu Airport management's commitment to expanding and adding flight frequencies to international destinations.
"We will continue to maintain and develop the positive trend of international passenger growth," said Yosrizal in a written statement on Thursday, December 4, 2025.
The opening of the new route is also part of the airport management's commitment to introduce more relevant international destinations for the people of both regions, especially those who want to enjoy nature, culture, and culinary experiences in North Sumatra and world-class health services in Penang.
According to data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), Malaysia was the largest source of foreign tourists to Indonesia in 2024, with 2.2 million visitors. According to the Malaysian Tourism Board, Indonesia is the second-largest source of foreign tourists to Malaysia, with 4.1 million visitors in the same year.
The Managing Director of PT Angkasa Pura Aviasi, Ravishankar Saravu, hopes that the Kualanamu Airport will contribute more towards the number of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia. The reason is that North Sumatra has many attractions, ranging from natural beauty, culture and unique culinary experiences.
"We believe that North Sumatra can become a tourist destination for tourists who want to further explore the beauty and wisdom of Indonesia," said Ravishankar.
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