Malindo Air (Kuala Lumpur International) has been granted Saudi Arabian traffic rights by the Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) thus confirming reports earlier this year that the Lion Air (JT, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) subsidiary was considering entering the longhaul market.

MAVCOM said in a statement that it had permitted Malindo Air to operate seven scheduled flights per week between Kuala Lumpur International and Jeddah International effective December of this year. The airline has yet to comment on the allocation.

Malindo Air operates eleven ATR72-600s, fourteen B737-800s, and six B737-900(ER)s on flights to fifteen countries including Malaysia, Bangladesh, India, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Nepal, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, China, Australia, and Taiwan. Additional route allocations have also been granted for Yangon, Myanmar (4x weekly from November) and Phnom Penh, Cambodia (7x weekly from August).