Asia's top budget carrier AirAsia is planning four return flights a week to Indonesia's Aceh province from June, said the airline's chief.

"We have a social obligation to help new economies grow. We want to help the people in Aceh to get back on their feet," chief executive Tony Fernandes said.

The flights from Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur to the province's capital Banda Aceh will be AirAsia's 10th destination in Indonesia.

Fernandes said he was confident the route would be a success as the carrier was a low cost operator.

Impoverished Aceh bore the brunt of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed more than 130,000 people in the area and destroyed homes and other buildings.

However before the flights could start, Fernandes said Aceh authorities would first have to reconstruct the customs, immigration and quarantine complex at Aceh airport.

AirAsia last month said its net profit for the six months to December jumped to RM227 million from RM59.9 million for the previous six-month period.

AirAsia was launched as a budget carrier in December 2001 with just two aircraft. It now offers more than 100 domestic and international flights throughout Southeast Asia.