A PASSAGE TO INDIA

Two of top five on the Subcontinent

AVALON Airport is providing a passage to India, with two of that nation’s cities featuring in the airport’s five most popular onward destinations since AirAsia started operations last December.

AVALON Airport is providing a passage to India, with two Indian cities featuring in the airport’s five most popular onward destinations since AirAsia started operations last December.

AirAsia X, the only airline offering international flights from Avalon, switched its twice-daily flight between Kuala Lumpur and Melbourne from Tullamarine as part of a 10-year deal signed with Avalon Airport’s operator Linfox Airports last year.

The top-five onward destinations for passengers flying from Avalon to Kuala Lumpur are Amritsar (India), Phuket (Thailand), Kochi (India), Penang (Malaysia) and Bangkok (Thailand).

AirAsia spokeswoman Sarah Quinn said the airline now offered a network of more than 140 destinations across Asia Pacific for Avalon customers via its hub in KL.

“As a key part of our growth strategy, it’s unsurprising that two of our top-six fly-through destinations are located in India, which continue to prove popular for independent travellers or guests visiting friends and relatives,” she said.

“Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, and the beaches of Phuket are also tourism drawcards, while the UNESCO world heritage-listed city of Penang in Malaysia came in as another favourite.”

Avalon Airport CEO Justin Giddings said the booming Indian market presented a major tourist opportunity for Geelong.

“What’s interesting is two of the top three onward destinations are both Indian and probably a reflection of the large Indian community in the Wyndham area,” he said. “That would mean there would be a lot of people coming in from India as well as going out.

“I think there’s a good opportunity for Geelong to realise this and to really try and get some of that market.

“There’s over a billion people living there and a growing middle class and they’re looking to come and stay for quite a while.”

Mr Giddings said it was interesting that China did not feature in the top-five onward destinations. “However, there are a lot of airlines which are flying between China and Melbourne,” he said.

“I think there is still opportunity for better penetration into the Chinese market with direct services so there’s a gap for an airline to come along.”

The airport has previously said it expected about 500,000 passengers to pass through its newly built international terminal during the first year of operations.

The new terminal was built at Avalon in partnership with the Commonwealth and Victorian governments.

The terminal, which was officially opened last December, features border processing facilities, two duty free stores, tax refund facilities, as well as a bar and cafe spread over a 6370 square metre ground floor and 985 square metre mezzanine area.

Avalon Airport hopes to triple domestic flights within five years to double overall passengers to 1.7 million.

The airport currently transports about 850,000 passengers annually.