TEMPO.CO, Kendari - The administration of Wakatobi District in Southeast Sulawesi and Garuda Indonesia have met a dead end at the cooperation plan of subsidized direct flight route to Wakatobi.
Garuda Indonesia set a monthly subsidized fare that is considered to be too high. Therefore, Wakatobi District Administration has yet to provide any form of certainty. Previously, Wakatobi Administration had targetted to operate the new flight route in April 2017.
Wakatobi’s Head of Transportation Department, Ihcsan, confirmed that there is yet to be a fixed date for Garuda Indonesia to open the new flight route. However, Wakatobi Administration continues to negotiate with the state airliner to realize the flight route.
“There’s no confirmation up to this moment. The problem is that Garuda Indonesia set a Rp1 billion subsidized monthly fare. That number is too high considering that there are many other programs for the people that also need funding,” Ichsan said on Tuesday, April 19, 2017.
However, Wakatobi Administration is optimistic that Garuda will open the route to the region since the management of Matahora Airport has been taken over by the central government.
“The central government has taken over the management of Matahora Airport. So, sooner or later, Garuda is guaranteed to open a flight route to Wakatobi. Especially since President Joko Widodo has stated that Matahora Airport will be transformed to an international airport in 2019,” Ichsan said.
ROSNIA
