Angkasa Pura I Records 28 New Flight Routes in First Half of 2017
Jakarta. Angkasa Pura I, a state-owned operator of most of the airports in central and eastern Indonesia, has recorded 20 new domestic and 8 new international routes in the January-June period, amid efforts to increase the capacity of its airports.
"We give incentives to airlines to open new routes and add more flights," Angkasa Pura I president director Danang Baskoro said on Friday (30/06).
Flag carrier Garuda Indonesia opened a Manado-Gorontalo route in Sulawesi and three more connecting Ambon in Maluku to East Java's Surabaya, and Kaimana to Sorong in West Papua
Lion Air, Indonesia's largest budget airline, opened new links to Kuala Lumpur from Surabaya and Central Java's Solo. The airline, which recently ordered 50 new Boeing jets, also added a Balikpapan-Pontianak route in Kalimantan.
Lion's subsidiary, Wings Air, which operates mostly on short-haul routes, added two new flights from North Sulawesi's Manado — the first to Raja Ampat in West Papua and the second one to Merauke in Papua.
Susi Air, which was funded by Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti, introduced a flight from Ambon to Sanana in North Maluku.
Sriwijaya Air, Indonesia's third largest airline, opened routes from Surabaya to Papua's Sentani, from Surabaya to Lampung, from Lampung to Yogyakarta, and from East Java's Semarang to South Sulawesi's Makassar.
"We support the [government's] initiative to boost the growth of the tourism industry by increasing air connectivity," Danang said.
The Ministry of Transportation earlier said that with the additional routes, the number of air passengers grew 11.6 percent during the Idul Fitri holidays, compared to the same period last year.
Angkasa Pura I operates seven international airports, including Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali's Denpasar and Sam Ratulangi International Airport in Manado. The operator also manages six domestic airports, two cargo handling centers, and air traffic services.
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