Lion Air Adds Solo-China Routes

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Due to high demands, Solo’s Adi Soemarmo Airport is set to introduce more flights departing to China. 

“Yesterday, Batik (Airlines) is ‘on’ from China. Before that, there was Solo-Kunming, now we are waiting for more cities in China,” said general manager of state airport operator Angkasa Pura I at Adi Soemarmo Airport, Abdullah Usman, in Solo, January 8, 2020.

He further said that, as of now, the only airline that has confirmed the addition of more flights bound to China is Lion Air, with the Solo-Hainan route. However, similar to the Solo-Kunming route, the new route will still be a charter flight.

“That’s normal. New routes would usually be first set as charter flights, as it adjusts with a new market. Then, it would usually take anywhere between six months to a year to be set as a regular flight,” said Abdullah.

According to Abdullah, it will be determined during the market adaptation process, as the market will decide. If it is plausible, the route will then become a regular flight.

He further stated that he is expecting the addition of four more flight routes from Solo’s Adi Soemarmo Airport, as of February. Aside from the China-bound route, the airport has also communicated with Air Asia’s representative in regard to the introduction of a Solo-Kuala Lumpur route. “I met them yesterday. But, so far, it’s still preliminary discussions,” Abdullah said.

Currently, Adi Soemarmo Airport caters to 66 routes, either departing from or arriving at the airport. “Thus far, it’s still mostly domestic flights. From our records, we have 48 domestic routes, with the rest being international flights,” Abdullah explained.

ANTARA | DIO SUHENDA