The theme park in Sunway City Ipoh, which is situated at the foot of an ancient limestone hill. IPOH, Malaysia - Singaporean Chan Wai Hoe used to take the bus to visit his parents in Ipoh once every two to three months, but now he hops on a direct flight which takes only about an hour. “It saves time.
Taking the overnight bus is tiring, and it takes six to eight hours (to get) from Singapore to Ipoh,” the 44-year-old lecturer told The Straits Times. The capital of Perak, some 200km north of Kuala Lumpur, is seeing hordes of visitors and tourists, especially on weekends, thanks partly to direct flights from Singapore. Flights between Singapore and Ipoh were first operated by the former Tigerair Singapore in May 2015, and subsequently by Scoot from July 2017, following Scoot’s merger with Tigerair Singapore.
AirAsia also began flying this route in November 2018. AirAsia doubled its average weekly frequencies from four flights per week to eight in 2024, while Scoot tripled its average weekly flights from six to 18 in the same year. Today, there are 10 daily flights by Scoot and AirAsia, according to Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB).
Efforts are being made by the state, community and businesses to breathe new life into the historical and multicultural enclave that has long been known as a retirement haven. Malaysia’s Transport Minister Anthony Loke said in February: “Ipoh has a lot of potential..
. I was told that over the last six months, every flight that comes.