"The first flight route to be served by Garuda Indonesia is Kertajati-Tanjung Karang-Palembang round trip on December 18, 2018, and Kertajati-Balikpapan-Tarakan round trip on December 21, 2018," West Java Secretary Iwa Karniwa revealed here, Tuesday.
According to Karniwa, the two new routes demonstrate that Kertajati Airport is gradually gaining eminence among airlines.
"Hopefully, Garuda Indonesia`s flights from Kertajati Airport would spur other airlines to open new routes there," he remarked.
Karniwa added that the two new routes to be served by Garuda Indonesia from Kertajati Airport are in line with the government`s commitment to building the national flight network.
It also supports the government`s commitment to expanding access to national flight connectivity, especially through the Kertajati International Airport.
Karniwa noted that the flights at Kertajati Airport will offer multiple choices of flight schedules while expanding access to Bandung, Cirebon, Sumedang, and some other areas in West Java.
BIJB, or the so-called Kertajati Airport, is located in Kertajati Sub-district, Majalengka District, some 68 kilometers from Bandung City, the capital of West Java Province.
Kertajati Airport is built on an area of 1,800 hectares. It was inaugurated on May 2018 by President Joko Widodo and officially operated in June 2018.
Currently, Kertajati Airport has one runway measuring 2,500 meters long. This runway will be extended to a length of 3,500 meters to enable landing of wide-bodied aircraft, such as Airbus A380-800. During the ultimate phase, the airport will have two runways.
Kertajati Airport can accommodate 5.6 million passengers per year and is expected to be able to serve 18 million passengers in the following year.
Reporting by Ajat Sudrajat
Editing by Libertina, Suharto
Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
