Indonesia’s flag carrier Garuda Indonesia is making Bali a hub for Eastern Indonesia, connecting it with international routes to strengthen the regional economy, including tourism.
“We are optimizing Denpasar’s role as an international hub integrated with eastern Indonesia, particularly Papua,” said an official of Garuda Indonesia, Dewa Bagus Rendra Maha Putera in Denpasar, Bali on Thursday, as quoted from Antara.
One of the state-owned airline’s efforts is to open a flight from Denpasar to Jayapura, operating the Jakarta-Denpasar-Timika-Jayapura route.
The flight is operated four times a week, every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday from Jakarta, using a Boeing 737-800NG with a capacity of 12 business class seats and 150 economy class seats.
Flight GA-652 departs from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport at 9:25 p.m. local time and arrives at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport at 12:20 a.m. local time the following day.
The flight then departs at 1:05 a.m. local time for Mozes Kilangin Airport in Timika, arriving at 5:45 a.m. local time, then departs for Sentani Airport in Jayapura, arriving at 7:55 a.m. local time.
Meanwhile, flights from Jayapura are operated by GA-653, which operates every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.
The flight departs from Sentani Airport at 8:50 a.m. to Timika, then continues to Denpasar, and then on to Jakarta, arriving at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport at 3:30 p.m. Jakarta time.
“The presence of the route is expected to provide a smoother journey for passengers, both international tourists and business people,” Putera added.
He hopes that Bali, as the main gateway for international tourism, can encourage increased tourist visits to Papua, while also making a significant contribution to strengthening the regional economy.
Putera added that the company will continue to evaluate and develop the network adaptively to ensure routes are relevant to consumer needs.
