Garuda to provide flights to Fukuoka

Garuda to provide flights to Fukuoka

TOKYO (DPA): The Tokyo office of Garuda Indonesia airlines said Wednesday it will resume flights between Fukuoka in southwestern Japan and Denpasar on Bali Island during the summer season to respond to the demand from Japanese tourists.

The Indonesian national flag carrier will tie up with the Crystal Travel Company, a travel agency based in Fukuoka, and operate two chartered flights a week between Fukuoka and Denpasar starting on July 24 for two months to meet the increasing demand for flights to the Indonesia resort island.

An official at Garuda said the company, however, does not have a plan to provide regular services from Fukuoka to Denpasar.

Currently, Garuda Indonesia provides regular flights from Japan's Kansai International Airport, Narita Airport and Nagoya Airport to Denpasar.

Garuda suspended Fukuoka-Denpasar services in May, 1998, because of a sharp drop of Japanese visitors to Bali due to an unstable political situation in the Southeast Asian country as well as to a fatal accident in 1996 at Fukuoka Airport.

On June 13, 1996 a Garuda DC-10 jetliner overran the runway during takeoff at Fukuoka Airport and caught fire, killing three passengers and injuring 170 others.