Indigo, India’s largest private airline has announced direct non-stop flight from Chennai to Penang.

Penang - pearl of the Orient

Penang is a state within Malaysia as well as an island. The official state extends a little bit into mainland but for all practical purposes, Penang state is the island. While George Town is the city proper, entire island is usually referred to as Penang. It is somewhat unique within Malaysia in that ethnic Chinese form a sizeable proportion of its population - about 40%. It is well known for its Chinese culture, dialects as well as food that is popular throughout SE Asia among Chinese diaspora.

But for Indians, especially Tamils, Penang is also a state with sizeable Tamil population and numerous beautiful temples and of course, bazaars and food. You can see Tamil grocery stores, temples,eateries and restaurants all over the island.

It is a pity that until now, one has to go to KL - Kuala Lumpur by air and take a train to reach Penang or fly again. The high speed train takes only 4 hours and zips through the countryside at 140kmph. But it doesn’t go the island - you get off at the terminus in the mainland and take a short ferry or a bus.

Direct flight

Indigo airlines has announced direct flights from MAA - Chennai to PEN - Penang airport from 24th December 2024. This saves a lot of time for Indian origin Malaysians visiting their land of ancestors for family visits, pilgrimate etc., but also Indian tourists going to Penang. In fact a lot of Indian tourists may skip Penang given the connectivity issues but can now use the city as a base for further exploration - for example Ipoh, another small town is within a couple of hours.

Visa issues!

One fly in the ointment could be visa - Malaysia had announced back in December 2023 that Indians can travel there without prior visa. But this was only valid for one year - and it expires this December 2024. This visa move was a huge boost to tourism.

However, Malaysia has its own concerns about illegal immigration which is not entirely misplaced. One is not sure how the experiment went and if Malaysia will extend this facility going forward. Thailand had also announced initially for a year but has now expanded it indefinitely. One hopes Malaysia will follow suit as the launch of the flight coincides exactly with the expiry of the visa-free arrangement!

If we hear anything we will update here.

We need more!

Penang is a special case given the strong Indian links. But there is yet another city that deserves attention - Medan in Indonesia. It also has a few Tamils, nowhere as many as Tamils but enough to have a 140 year old Mariamman temple! Very few know about this. Medan is also a gateway to the beautiful Lake Toba region of Indonesia with numerous other places worth a visit. One hopes as Indian economy gathers steam and more people travel, we will see direct flights from Chennai to Medan.