Many fly from Medan for New Year

Many fly from Medan for New Year

MEDAN, North Sumatra: Thousands of local residents will fly out
of North Sumatra province to enjoy New Year parties overseas next
week despite the protracted economic crisis, airport officials
here said on Thursday.

They said dozens of flights traveling abroad from the
provincial capital of Medan had been booked out ahead of New
Years Day, which falls next Wednesday.

More than 16 flights are scheduled, with a total of around
3,000 people on board, every day from Polonia Airport in Medan to
Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and Thailand, ahead of the New
Year celebrations.

On Thursday, the airport saw a sharp increase in passengers
traveling on international flights. Others, particularly those
bound for Jakarta and Batam in Riau province, were also seen at
the domestic departure terminal.

Mulyono, the operational director of airport operator PT
Angkasa Pura II, said the increase in passengers by the end of
this year at Polonia would emulate the success it registered in
1996, when the number of travelers by plane at Medan reached
2,006,333 people. --JP