Only Batam will serve foreign cargo jets<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government, which is inviting foreign
\npassenger airlines to serve more domestic airports, is to limit
\noverseas cargo aircraft to Hang Nadim airport on Batam Island, a
\nminister said yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"Any foreign cargo jets interested in entering Indonesia will
\nbe required to stop at Batam and not to proceed to any other
\nairports in the country,\" Minister of Transportation Haryanto
\nDhanutirto told The Jakarta Post after installing officials of
\nhis ministry at a ceremony here.<\/p>\n
He said that such a policy is necessary to protect the
\ninterests of domestic cargo airlines.<\/p>\n
Hang Nadim airport, about 20 kilometers southeast of
\nSingapore, is currently being developed as an international
\ntransport hub for scheduled and chartered passenger and cargo
\nflights, he said.<\/p>\n
Director General of Air Transportation Zainuddin Sikado said
\nthat foreign cargo carriers are being urged to cooperate with
\ndomestic airlines to serve other destinations in the country.<\/p>\n
KLM and Martin Air of the Netherlands, for instance, have
\nestablished links with the national air carrier Garuda Indonesia
\nto handle air cargoes, he said.<\/p>\n
\"We have to protect domestic airlines and avoid what has
\nhappened in sea cargo transportation,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In sea transportation, domestic vessels transport only 2.3
\npercent of the country's exports and imports, while the other
\n97.7 percent are carried by ships flying foreign flags.<\/p>\n
Sikado said he had recently rejected a proposal from Federal
\nExpress, a U.S. air cargo giant which wanted to serve Indonesia
\nthrough Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"The air cargo business has great potential. Cargoes
\ntransported on the Indonesia-Singapore and Indonesia-Hong Kong
\nroutes reach, for example, about 50 tons and 57 tons per day,
\nrespectively,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Service<\/p>\n
Hang Nadim airport, whose expansion was inaugurated last
\nDecember, is one of the country's 19 international gateways. With
\nits 4,000-meter runway, it is able to handle seven wide-bodied
\nand six smaller-bodied aircraft.<\/p>\n
Sikado, who was installed yesterday as chief commissioner of
\nthe state-owned airport management firm PT Angkasa Pura I, also
\nsaid that the government had licensed Sempati Air and Merpati
\nNusantara Airlines to operate wide-bodied jets to fly to the
\nUnited States.<\/p>\n
\"The two airlines may, in addition to Garuda Indonesia,
\noperate Airbus A-340s or Boeing B-777s to fly to the United
\nStates.\"<\/p>\n
Indonesia, which applies a reciprocal basis in its bilateral
\nair accords, has licensed Northwest and United Airlines of the
\nUnited States to fly to Indonesia.<\/p>\n
At yesterday's ceremony, Haryanto also installed Umar Rusdi as
\nchief commissioner of PT Pelabuhan Indonesia I, Director General
\nof Sea Transportation Soentoro as chief commissioner of PT
\nPelabuhan Indonesia II and chief of the Research and Development
\nAgency of the Ministry of Transportation Soebagijo Soemodihardjo
\nas chief commissioner of PT Pelabuhan Indonesia III.<\/p>\n
Herman Prayitno was installed as president of PT Pelabuhan
\nIndonesia III, Muhammad Muntaqa as president of PT Pelayaran
\nDjakarta Lloyd, Syahwin Hamid, as president of PT Angkutan Sungai
\nDanau dan Penyeberangan, Dwi Wahyono Sjamhudi as president of
\nPerum Kereta Api and Iskandar B. as president of PT Biro
\nKlasifikasi Indonesia. (icn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/only-batam-will-serve-foreign-cargo-jets-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}