One of the laments of Melaka, Malaysia’s historical city, is that it has an international airport but no big airlines servicing it as neither national carrier, Malaysia Airlines, nor low-cost carrier, AirAsia, shows any interest in basing any of its aircraft there.

The only air link Melaka’s Batu Berendam International Airport currently has is provided by two small airlines, Wings Air and Riau Airlines with their thrice weekly services on the Pekan Baru (Indonesia) – Malacca – Pekan Baru route.

Pictured left:  Portuguese fortress, A Famosa, Melaka’s most photographed landmark 

Most of the tourists who visited the historical city usually travel there overland, either from Singapore or as part of an overland Malaysia tour.

Arrivals could spike significantly if there is direct air access from cities within Malaysia and from foreign destinations.Then perhaps this historical city, with its ancient historical sites, rich cultures and unique cuisine could realise its dream of being a truly global destination.

Coming to Melaka’s rescue and lending a helping hand to make the state fulfil its tourism dream is community airline, Firefly. It inked an agreement with Melaka Air in late July to base an ATR72-500 aircraft at the Batu Berendam International Airport for regional and domestic services.

Firefly managing director Datuk Eddy Leong (pictured right) said the agreement would pave the way for the airline to mount three times weekly flights out of the historical city to Batam, Pekan Baru and Medan in Indonesia starting November 11.

From November 19, services will be extended to include Penang and Kota Baru in Malaysia.

The airline is taking delivery of its 11th and 12th ATR aircraft. The 11th aircraft has been designated to be stationed in Melaka, with the maiden flight to take off at 11am on November 11.

Firefly projects 60,000 air passengers to use the Batu Berendam Internatonal Airport from that date. The airport handled about 21,000 passengers last year with a forecast of 30,000 passengers for this year.

Leong said there are plans to establish full support services in the airport, which would include aircraft maintenance, ground handling and fuel service, as well as an airport ticketing office.

“And iif this collaboration proves successful Firefly has the capacity to offer the Boeing jet, which has a bigger seating capacity,” he added.

Target markets for the Malacca-Indonesia services are health tourism and business travellers.

The thrice-weekly flights from Melaka to Penang will connect the two UNESCO World Heritage cities, which will attract both foreign and domestic tourists to both destinations. (Melaka and George Town in Penang were both listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008)

“With the Malacca-Kota Baru route we hope to woo more tourist,” Leong said.

Firefly may also consider flying to Hatyai in southern Thailand in the future. Also on the horizon are other regional destinations

Malaccca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam, who has been advocating for more airlines to fly to Melaka, said the state would go all out to promote the new service at the airport.

Dreams, they say, do come true. For Melaka this may just be the case, with a little help from Firefly.