Extra flights for Idul Fitri holiday

Extra flights for Idul Fitri holiday

JAKARTA (JP): State carriers Garuda Indonesia and Merpati Nusantara Airlines announced yesterday that they will operate extra flights to cope with the travel boom expected during the upcoming Idul Fitri holiday.

While Merpati Nusantara is cashing in on the surge in domestic travelers who are flying to their home towns, Garuda will cater largely to those taking holiday overseas.

Garuda is making 48 additional flights with 19,196 seats between Feb. 26 and March 9.

The additional flights include 11 to Singapore, always a popular destination for short-holiday getaways, 10 to Perth, six to Denpasar and six to Melbourne.

Merpati, Garuda's subsidiary which mainly operates domestic services, will provide 44 additional flights with 5,152 seats between Feb. 26 and March 16.

The extra flights are largely for services to and from Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar, Pekanbaru, Padang and Pangkal Pinang.

Merpati is also considering an additional night-flight service for Bandung-Singapore route if there is sufficient demand during the holiday season. (icn)