JAKARTA, Nov 2 — Malaysia Airlines has launched a new twice-weekly direct flight between Kuala Lumpur (KUL) and Yogyakarta, Indonesia on Wednesday and Sunday, effective today.

Flight MH857 departs KUL to Yogyakarta at 5.40pm and flight MH856 departs Yogyakarta to KUL at 8.30pm, will be operated by 160-seater B737-800 aircraft, the airline said in a statement.

The new service marks its network expansion strategy, bringing the existing network within Indonesia to six cities, including Jakarta, Denpasar, Surabaya, Medan and Pekanbaru.

Group chief executive officer of Malaysia Aviation Group Captain Izham Ismail said the new service would cater to business and leisure travellers’ needs and strengthen the region’s share of umrah and hajj pilgrimage.

He said the move would also encourage economic growth and increase business and trade between the two nations and positioning the airline on a solid footing to hit over 82 per cent of pre-pandemic capacity.

"Our operations in Indonesia have been positive with a current capacity at 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels,” he said.

Malaysia Airlines’ return airfares from KUL to Yogyakarta start from RM1,255. — Bernama