Garuda Indonesia to Reduce Flight Routes, Says SOE Deputy Minister

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Deputy Minister Kartika “Tiko” Wirjoatmodjo said the flight service of flag carrier Garuda Indonesia in all airports across the archipelago will increasingly become scarce as it planned to reduce its flight routes, including international ones.

“We will focus on super-premium routes. Garuda’s routes will be dropped from 237 to only 140. This is indeed a challenge that many airports will see a decrease in the number of Garuda flights,” said Tiko in today's hearing with the Commission VI of the House of Representatives (DPR) as broadcasted via the DPR’s YouTube channel, November 9.

According to him, the national carrier has also cut the number of aircraft from 142 to only 50-60 units. They are operated on potential routes, such as Denpasar, Bali. Some of the aircraft were grounded for the company’s restructuring process, while some others had been returned to the lessor, particularly narrow-body ones such as Boeing 737.

Other than reducing the number of routes and flight frequency, Garuda Indonesia also planned to cut back the type of fleet it has. The airline will later have seven types of fleet from previously 13 types as an efficiency measure.

Read: Garuda Indonesia Business Restructure Persists: Minister Erick Thohir

FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA