KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 1): AirAsia Group Bhd has added Ipoh as its latest domestic destination to the airline's network, with the inaugural flight from Johor Bahru to Ipoh taking off earlier today.

Ipoh marks AirAsia Malaysia's (flight code AK) 17th domestic destination and the 16th route from the Johor Bahru hub.

In a statement, AirAsia said the flight AK6082, operated by an Airbus A320, departed Senai International Airport at 7:30am and arrived at Sultan Azlan Shah Airport at 8:40am.

Guests on board the flight were greeted by Perak Menteri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu, state finance officer Datuk Abu Bakar Said, State Tourism, Arts and Cultural Committee chairman Tan Kar Hing, Tourism Perak chief executive officer Zuraida Md Taib, Tourism Malaysia Perak state director Mohd Roslan Abdullah, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd acting group chief executive officer Raja Azmi Raja Nazuddin, AirAsia director Datuk Aziz Bakar and AirAsia Malaysia chief executive officer Riad Asmat.

Ahmad Faizal said the state is currently working on rebranding its tourism, including Ipoh, to lure more domestic and foreign visitors.

To achieve this, Ahmad Faizal said the state government is setting up Perak Tourism Action Council to come up with a master plan to drive the state's tourism sector.

"The state government is truly excited to welcome new visitors to Perak and I would like to applaud AirAsia for launching the route. We have no doubt that AirAsia's four times weekly direct services will further boost the number of visitors to the state and contribute significantly to the state's economy.

"We have full confidence in AirAsia to play its part as our strategic partner to further promote Perak," he added.

Riad said the company has been aggressively expanding its network from Johor Bahru to enable more people to fly from and to the southern city. In addition to Johor Bahru–Ipoh services, Riad said AirAsia has also commenced direct flights from Johor Bahru to Alor Setar today.

"We are delighted to launch direct services to Ipoh, a long-anticipated addition to our route network. The launch of this new service is a testament to our continuous effort to extend our reach domestically.

"We are confident both Ipoh and Alor Setar will be extremely popular destinations for business and leisure travellers," he said.