TEMPO.CO, Surabaya-Garuda Indonesia CEO M. Arif Wibowo said he will open new pioneer routes in Papua with three destinations, namely Biak-Wamena, Biak-Nabire, and Biak-Jayapura.

The addition of these new routes, said Arif, is based on the high interest of the people of Papua. These new flight routes will be centered in Biak, Papua. “It will start operating later in June,” Arif told Tempo Thursday, May 26, 2016.

The number of passengers in Papua is exceptionally high reaching 1,000 passengers in one day or 30,000 passengers in a month. Meanwhile, the only available airline is Susi Air, so the market share is very promising. “We will be using ATR 72-600 aircraft with the capacity of 70 seats,” said Arif.

Besides the development on several new routes, Garuda Indonesia continue to develop its armada development program. In 2016, Garuda Indonesia Group will be receiving a total of 18 new armadas, include one Boeing 777-300ER, four A330-300 Airbus, four ATR72-600, and nine A320 Airbus for Citilink.

“So, until the end of 2016, Garuda Indonesia Group will operate a total of 197 armadas, comprising of 144 Garuda Indonesia armadas and 53 Citilink armadas,” he said.

Garuda Indonesia is included as a member of SkyTeam. The alliance is a group of global airlines consisting 20 airline members and offers global network service with more than 16,320 flights to 1,057 destinations in 177 countries everyday.

MOHAMMAD SYARRAFAH