Garuda reopens China route amid high demand

Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

National flag-carrier Garuda Indonesia reopened its Jakarta- Guangzhou route on Tuesday in response to increasing passenger and cargo demand from China, the company's head of communications Pujobroto said.

The Jakarta-Medan-Guangzhou route was discontinued at the end of March 1998 in the wake of the Asian economic crisis and the company's internal difficulties, he said in a statement on Tuesday.

The reopened route will be served without the Medan stopover and flown twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays, using DC-10 aircraft.

"We also plan to increase the flight frequency to three times a week during the summer schedule from April to October," Pujobroto said.

He said that passenger traffic between Guangzhou and Jakarta reached 40,037 passengers in 1999, or double that of the previous year, with tourism accounting for the bulk of reasons for visiting the country, at 46 percent, followed by business trips, visiting family, seminars or conferences, religious or health reasons.

Air cargo also showed a significant increase, with approximate annual traffic at more than 2,254 tons per year, Pujobroto said, adding that the majority of the cargo included live turtles, perishable goods and marine products.

According to the Guangzhou Tourism Board, Chinese nationals visiting Indonesia totaled 20,000 people last year, while those visiting China from Indonesia totaled 220,000 people.

The airline also reopened on Dec. 9 its Denpasar-Taipei route, which had been closed during the crisis.

The new flight will also stop in Manado, North Sulawesi, and will be flown four times a week using DC-10 aircraft.

Passenger traffic to Indonesia from Taiwan increased by almost 50 percent last year, to 221,286 passengers from 150,430. The number increased again this year to 236,776 passengers, and next year it is expected to increase to 253,350 passengers.

Meanwhile, traffic to Taiwan from Indonesia also increased to 114,845 this year, from 107,332 in 2000 and 76,919 in 1999. Some 122,884 passengers are expected from Indonesia next year.