TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Flag carrier Garuda Indonesia booked US$568 million in revenues, or around Rp8 trillion, as of September 2021. But because the airline spent US$1.29 billion (Rp18 trillion) in operating costs, the company ended up with a loss of some US$632 million.

"The company is still recording operating losses," the airline's president director Irfan Setiaputra in a disclosure at the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) Information Disclosure, Tuesday, November 16.

Irfan said the loss was caused by the company's cost structure, which were mostly fixed costs. The airline also suffers from a significant fall in revenue as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Irfan also reported that Garuda boarded 2.3 million passengers as of September. By year-end, the airline projects a traffic of 3.3 million, which is 17 percent of 2019's passengers' volume before the pandemic

Irfan hopes the company's revenue will start to increase along with the growth in the number of passengers as Indonesia begins to have control over the pandemic situation, with the PPKM policy eased.

Irfan said that more detailed information related to the company's performance will be presented in its quarterly report for Q3/2021 soon.

Read: Garuda Indonesia to Close 97 Flight Routes

FAJAR PEBRIANTO