Declining Passenger Numbers Lead Wings Air to Suspend Bandung-Yogyakarta Route

Wings Air has officially suspended operations on the Bandung-Yogyakarta flight route due to low passenger numbers. The daily flights, previously operated from Husein Sastranegara Airport to Yogyakarta International Airport (YIA), no longer appear in the airline’s latest schedule. Bandung Mayor Muhammad Farhan explained that the decision to discontinue the route is entirely a business move by the airline. “Public interest in short-distance flights has indeed declined, especially since the toll road network has improved,” Farhan stated in Bandung on Wednesday. Farhan elaborated that the trend of declining passengers on short-haul routes has been evident for a long time, even before Kertajati Airport resumed serving major flights. Routes to cities such as Semarang, Solo, and Yogyakarta have already shown a decrease in public interest. In contrast, more people are now opting for medium- to long-distance flights with high demand to several major cities. Observing this trend, the Bandung city government is encouraging the central government to reopen flight permissions using large-bodied aircraft at Husein Sastranegara Airport, particularly for routes outside Java where demand remains consistently high. Field observations indicate that Husein Sastranegara Airport has returned to a quiet atmosphere, with flight activities becoming increasingly minimal following the removal of the Bandung-Yogyakarta route from the schedule. Previously, the route was operated using Wings Air’s ATR 72-500 aircraft, with the flight code: [code not specified]. The last flight from Bandung was recorded on the final day of the Lebaran return flow in 2026.