Flashback to Merpati Nusantara Airlines' History, Cause of Bankruptcy

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo or Jokowi officially dissolved PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines after the Surabaya Commercial Court declared its bankruptcy on June 2 last year. The state-owned airline's dissolution was ratified through the signing of Government Regulation No.8/2023 on Monday, October 20.

Merpati Nusantara Airlines was founded on September 6, 1962, based on its operations at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, with shares owned by several government institutions. At the start of its operations, Merpati only flew two types of aircraft, the DHC-3 and DC-3, which were donated by the Indonesian Air Force. Merpati also got its pilots and technicians from the air force, Garuda Indonesia, as well as civil companies.

In 1966, or four years later, Merpati Air's commercial services were opened, including flights to Papua. The airline also received support from the United Nations in the form of three Twin Otter planes.

In the 1970s, Merpati's performances seemed promising with various collaborations with various foreign airlines, including Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, even China Airlines, among others. This cooperation allowed the Pigeon to fly overseas to Singapore and Malaysia.

Following troubles with old airplanes and problems from the 1997-1998 financial crisis, by the late 2000s, Merpati began to seriously run a revitalization and modernization program for some of its fleets, especially for pioneer flights. One of them is the procurement project for leasing Boeing 737-400 and 737-500 series from Thirdstone Aircraft Leasing to PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines. The sad thing is that this project has become a breeding ground for corruption.

The state-owned airline began to collapse in October 2011 after running up on avtur purchase debt totaling Rp270 billion, among other financial issues, including corruption. By 2014, Merpati Nusantara Airlines ceased its operations, and its Air Operator Certificate was revoked in 2015.

HENDRIK KHOIRUL MUHID

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