Garuda restricts smokers

JAKARTA (JP): The national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia will extend its non-smoking flights to include services to and from Taiwan, Hong Kong and the United States from Jan. 26.

The company announced yesterday that all domestic flights became non-smoking on Dec. 1. along with flights to other Southeast Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand.

Garuda will also restrict smoking on long-haul services including those to Europe, Japan, China and Saudi Arabia.

"Based on the memorandum of the World Health Organization, the Orient Airlines Association and the International Civil Aviation Organization, Garuda's first and business classes and 80 percent of the economy class will be smoke-free on the flights to Europe, Japan, China and Saudi Arabia," a company statement said. (icn)