Chief executive officer Wasan-tha Kumarasiri said the national flag carrier would introduce a non-stop service to Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 29.
He made the announcement after receiving the operating license from Minister for Transport Don Polye last Friday.
The airline is working on obtaining the other required regulatory approvals before the inaugural flight departs Port Moresby for Kuala Lumpur.
The six-hour flight departs Port Moresby at 3 p.m. and arrives in Kuala Lumpur at 7.10 p.m. (Malaysian time). The return flight departs Kuala Lumpur at 8.10 p.m. and arrives in Port Moresby at 4.20 a.m. (PNG time). Tickets for the inaugural flight will go on sale this week with Air Niugini expected to release the new international flight schedule soon.
Kumarasiri said the service would provide an opportunity for business people to travel between the two countries as well as connect passengers to other Asian destinations and Europe.
He said the non-stop route would also help to address capacity shortage currently experienced in the Port Moresby–Singapore service.
Apart from the Kuala Lumpur service, the new flight schedule will also see direct services to Hong Kong and additional flights to Manila in the Philippines and Honiara in the Solomon Islands.
Air Niugini will operate the Hong Kong route on Monday and Manila on Tuesday and Saturday. The additional flight to Honiara will be on Wednesday, which connects passengers from Manila and Hong Kong to Honiara and those from Honiara to Kuala Lumpur.
The airline currently flies from Port Moresby to Hong Kong via Manila and operates only one direct service to Manila a week.
Kumarasiri said the new schedule with additional direct services had been designed to provide greater availability and improved services.
