Merpati makes maiden flight linking Denpasar with Sumbawa

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar/Sumbawa

The 18-passenger Twin Otter Merpati Nusantara Airlines landed smoothly on the new airstrip in Sekongkang district, Sumbawa island in West Nusa Tenggara province, marking the first commercial flight to arrive in this beach area, a haven for surfers and turtles alike.

Last Wednesday's maiden flight carrying passengers from Denpasar to Sekongkang and the opening of the airstrip brought new hope to local residents and the provincial government.

H. Lalu Serinata, governor of West Nusa Tenggara, expressed his enthusiasm, saying the flight between Denpasar and Sekongkang would help facilitate the movement of people.

"I really expect that the opening of the airstrip will enable local residents as well as visitors to easily move in or out of Sumbawa," the governor said during the inauguration of the 850- meter long airstrip belonging to Tropical Strip last Wednesday.

Harry Pardjaman, Merpati's director of operational affairs, said he believed the joint venture between the state-owned airline company and Tropical Strip, worth US$1.5 million, would help improve the welfare of locals through economic activities and foreign investment.

Potential customers include mining company PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara, which is backed by foreign investors and operates in the area.

Kasan Mulyono, the company's public relation manager, said there were important goods and materials not available in the area that had to be delivered from cities outside Sumbawa, such as Mataram, the capital of West Nusa Tenggara, which is located on the neighboring Lombok island, and Denpasar.

Sumbawa and Lombok are the major islands that make up West Nusa Tenggara province, which also includes several smaller islands.

Yuni White, director of Tropical Strip, acknowledged that PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara was her company's main market so far. She said there were an estimated 600 people traveling daily from Sekongkang to Mataram or Denpasar for various reasons.

"I set a target of 10 percent of 600 people per day. That is quite promising for an initial step," she added.

Tickets for flights on the Sekongkang-Denpasar route cost Rp 500,000 (US$60), while a Sekongkang-Mataram flight costs Rp 250,000.

In the past, White said the majority of the company's employees relied on the speed ferry operated by the company to get out of Sumbawa.

The ferry carries passengers from Benete Harbor in Sekongkang to Kayangan Port in Lombok twice a day. The 200-capacity ferry, however, is unable to carry more than 400 passengers a day.

Visitors to Sekongkang used to have to take a 30-minute flight from Ngurah Rai airport in Denpasar to Selaparang airport in Lombok.

Upon arrival in Lombok, they had to continue their trip from Selaparang airport to the Kayangan port, which took about an hour. Then travelers had another 90 minutes to go on the ferry from Kayangan to Benete in Sekongkang.

Overall, it took three hours for a one-way trip from Denpasar to Sekongkang.

If you took the regular ferry from Padangbai in Karangasem, Bali, via Lembar port in Lombok and Sekongkang to Poto Tano port in Sumbawa, you would likely be traveling for between 12 hours and 13 hours.

There is an alternative, using a small airplane operated by PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara, which flies twice a day. The plane has only eight seats and is more often used for the company's official business.

According to Robert Gallagher of PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara, the company charges US$40 per flight to those wanting to travel on the company's plane.

The West Nusa Tenggara governor also expected that the opening of the new airstrip could attract more domestic and international tourists to the area.

Serinata said Sekongkang boasts a pristine beach, Pesin, a hidden paradise for surfers. Pesin beach is located only four kilometers from the airstrip.

White said that surfers were also a target market for the new flight route. In the past, she said, they usually took a helicopter from Mataram on Lombok.

She also said she planned to organize an international surf competition in Sumbawa in the near future.

The airstrip construction cost some Rp 5 billion. According to Captain Paulus Hendratmo, a Merpati pilot, the airstrip still has some shortcomings.

"The airstrip is located on the slope of the Sekongkang valley, so when a plane is going to land crosswinds may suddenly appear on the ground ... ," he explained.

During the maiden flight, he had to land his plane from the northeast in order to avoid the crosswinds. "If we landed from the other side, it would be too risky because the plane has to avoid crashing into a high valley out there."