Batik Air Malaysia has suspended flights to Adelaide Airport just seven months after commencing operations to the South Australian hub.
Formerly Malindo Airlines, the carrier kicked off its first Adelaide-Kuala Lumpur flights in July 2023 with a three-times weekly service.
But it seems the KL-based airline, which is part of the Lion Air Group, has flown its last flight to South Australia… at least for now.
“Batik Air Malaysia has indicated that it is suspending its services between Adelaide and Kuala Lumpur as of February 8 due to ongoing operational constraints,” an Adelaide Airport spokesperson told 9NEWS.
The last of Batik Air Malaysia’s flights touched down at Australia’s fifth busiest airport on Wednesday.
After arriving on one of the last Batik flights from Kuala Lumpur, passenger Matthew Conahan said the plane was almost full.
“It is annoying, but we’re in a small city I guess,” Mr Conohan said of the suspension, The Advertiser reported.
“I was surprised to see this many people coming to Adelaide when I was at Kuala Lumpur, I thought the plane would be nearly empty, but it was pretty packed.”
At the announcement of the launch in May, Adelaide Airport Managing Director Brenton Cox called Malaysia “a strong long-term market for travel to and from Adelaide”.
The news comes the same week that global carrier Emirates announced it would return to Adelaide with daily flights on 28 October 2024.
Bali halved
Meanwhile, according to The Advertiser, sister airline Batik Indonesia has revealed it will be reducing Adelaide-Bali flights from four to two services per week.
Part of Lion Air Group, Batik Indonesia said it was “common to lessen the number of flights to Indonesia this time of year despite knowing that 200,000 South Australians travelling there last year”.
Batik Air Malaysia debuted direct flights between Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur in December 2023, operating a thrice-weekly seasonal service.
