TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Low-cost carrier Lion Air is set to open a new route connecting Jakarta-Banyuwangi starting Friday, March 6. The Boeing 737-800 NG with a capacity of 189 seats will serve passengers for this route.

The airlines’ spokesman Danang Mandala Prihartoro said that the route expansion aimed at supporting the government’s program to lure domestic and international tourists.

“We predict that the new route of Jakarta-Banyuwangi will grow positively,” said Danang in a written statement, Sunday, March 1.

The flight frequency is available regularly with a one-day travel schedule (round trip). The aircraft with a tail number JT-594 will daily depart from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport at 6:30 a.m. and lands at 8:20 a.m. in Banyuwangi. The return flight with a tail number JT-593 from Banyuwangi Airport is set at 9 a.m. and arrive in Jakarta at 10:40 a.m.

Danang said the new route will accommodate air travel for business people and tourists. Banyuwangi, he added, is the third city in East Java that Lion Air serves after Surabaya and Malang.

“We hope the route of Soekarno Hatta-Banyuwangi-Soekarno Hatta can provide new alternatives for passengers in traveling. We support the mobility, and this is our response to the demand on intra-Java domestic travel,” Danang concluded.

FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA