VIVAnews - The Transportation Department urged national airlines to expand their operations on small areas in eastern Indonesia which have not been developed until now. There are many areas in eastern region which are potential for new route development.
The director for Air Transportation of the Transportation Department Tri Sunoko said that the aviation business in eastern Indonesia possesses great potential. Yet, the number of small aircraft and airport is still limited in this area.
He said that, at the present moment, airlines have started expanding business to small aircraft. "In other cities generally there are many [small aircraft]. This will be an inter-island bridge," Sunoko said in Jakarta on Wednesday, April 1.
The government is supporting the enhancement of small aircraft such as AOC 135 which has less than 35 seats capacity. The enhancement helps aviation service on areas like Papua, Ambon, Sulawesi. Sunoko explained that land transportation in mountainous area is not running well, while water transportation is inefficient due to the short distance.
Demands for small aircraft flights are high according to Sunoko, mainly coming from regencies' capital. "There are a lot of requests from the regent," he said. Pioneer flights to eastern area have also been supported by regional airports.
Nevertheless, the flights must calculate the route assignment. "If [the airlines] suffer losses, they can ask for our [responsibility]," he said.
Sunoko positively evaluated the reopening of a Bali-Mataram route by the national airline, Garuda Indonesia, since last Wednesday. The collaboration between Garuda Indonesia and Korean Air will support Indonesia's tourism business. The fact is that the demand on the route is high. "The newlyweds came from Bali can continue [their trips] to Mataram," he said.
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Translated by: Ariyantri E. Tarman
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