Workers return home

SURABAYA: Indonesian workers in Malaysia have begun returning home for the Idul Fitri holidays, as is evident from, among other things, the fully-booked flights from Kuala Lumpur to Surabaya, the capital of East Java.

District sales supervisor for Malaysian Airline System (MAS), Lilianawati Dinata, said here Thursday that since Jan. 14, there have been no vacant seats on MAS flights from Kuala Lumpur to Surabaya.

The route is served by two airlines, MAS and Garuda Indonesia, Antara reported.

Dinata said that for the route, MAS operates a Boeing-737, which can accommodate 134 passengers. "Usually, only 70 percent of the seats are occupied," she added.

Despite the number of passengers increasing, Dinata said, MAS will not offer any extra flight for the Kuala Lumpur-Surabaya route.

General manager for Garuda in Surabaya, Iman Sutoro, said he is also seeing an increase in the number of passengers on the route.

He said Garuda serves the route with an Airbus-600, which has 18 seats in business class and 207 seats in economy class.

"The Kuala Lumpur-Surabaya tickets for Feb. 6 to Feb. 10 have almost been sold out," he said.

Malaysia is known as the major destination for Indonesians seeking employment abroad. This year's Idul Fitri falls on Feb. 9 and Feb. 10. (swe)