Indonesia AirAsia Opens Surabaya–Makassar Route Connecting Luwuk, Palu, and Kendari

Indonesia AirAsia has begun service on the Surabaya–Makassar route connecting several cities in Sulawesi, including Luwuk, Palu, and Kendari, beginning Saturday, 7 March 2026.

The launch of this service adds travel options between Java and Sulawesi and expands inter-regional connectivity via Makassar as a transit point. Under this arrangement, passengers from Surabaya can continue their journey to several Sulawesi cities in a single flight sequence through Makassar.

Acting Managing Director of Indonesia AirAsia Captain Achmad Sadikin Abdurachman stated that opening the route is part of the airline’s network development in eastern Indonesia.

“The opening of the Surabaya–Makassar route is part of our commitment to expanding national connectivity, particularly towards eastern Indonesia. We are strengthening Makassar’s role as a virtual hub that makes it easier for communities to reach various cities such as Luwuk, Palu, and Kendari in a single travel sequence. We hope that the presence of this service can drive regional economic growth, expand tourism access, and create more opportunities for community movement and business operators across various Indonesian regions,” said Captain Achmad Sadikin Abdurachman, Acting Managing Director of Indonesia AirAsia.

He added that the connectivity is also integrated with the AirAsia Group network. Passengers from Luwuk, Palu, and Kendari can connect through Makassar and continue international travel via AirAsia’s fly-thru service to Kuala Lumpur.

Data from Indonesia’s Central Statistics Agency (Badan Pusat Statistik) shows that domestic tourist mobility in Sulawesi remains quite high. Throughout 2025, domestic tourist journeys in South Sulawesi exceeded 42.5 million trips.

Meanwhile, domestic tourist journeys in Central Sulawesi reached approximately 11.6 million trips and in Southeast Sulawesi around 13.3 million trips during the same period.

The data demonstrates strong community mobility to Sulawesi, indicating continued demand for air transport connectivity.

Based on ticket price monitoring on 9 March 2026, the Luwuk–Makassar route was recorded starting at around IDR 855,600. This price is lower compared to fares on the same route in recent years, which ranged around IDR 1.3 million since 2022.

According to Central Statistics Agency data for 2025, movement of domestic tourists to Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, and Southeast Sulawesi exceeded 67.4 million journeys.