TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Governor Zulkieflimansyah freshly introduced Lombok as Air Asia’s fifth hub in Indonesia after Jakarta, Medan, Surabaya, and Denpasar. The low-cost carrier serves direct flights to the hub from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Perth.

During the inauguration at the Lombok International Airport on Thursday, May 2, the governor expects that the introduction of the new hub may bring at least 29,000 tourists from the three regions mentioned above.

The new hub in Lombok is backed by the region’s status as one of Indonesia’s priority attractions and the upcoming plan is holding a MotoGP event in the area of Mandalika, Central Lombok.

“Because Lombok is included in the four prioritized tourist destinations apart from Toba Lake, Borobudur, and Labuan Bajo,” tourism ministry’s air connectivity special staff Juli Rifajuntoro.

The direct flight to Lombok from Perth, Australia is planned to start in June with the frequency of four flights per week. Air Asia is one of many air carriers such as Citilink, Garuda Indonesia, and Lion Air assisting the healing of Lombok post the devastating earthquake last year.

SUPRIYANTHO KHAFID (CONTRIBUTOR)