Merpati makes maiden flight linking Denpasar with Sumbawa

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."