Guwahati, Dec 2 (IANS): A tri-weekly direct flight between Guwahati and Bangkok has been introduced which will be operated by Thai Air Asia on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday on the Bangkok-Guwahati route, an official said on Saturday.

The maiden flight landed at Guwahati airport on Friday night with a total of 56 passengers and left after half an hour for Bangkok with 97 passengers.

The flight took off from Guwahati at 11.40 p.m. on Friday night and landed in Bangkok at around 2.15 p.m. Indian time, early morning in Thailand.

"This new flight is expected to go a long way in making Guwahati airport a hub of air connectivity to the South East Asian countries. It would boost the trade and tourism industry in the northeast," Utpal Baruah, Guwahati's chief airport officer, said on Saturday.

He said that in the future, the Thai Air Asia airline would provide onward connectivity to Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia.

"Our airport has marched ahead with this new connection towards making this airport a hub to the South East Asian countries. We all, airport, airline, government and other stakeholders should work jointly to make this route sustainable," he said.