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andwiched between high mountains and deep valleys, many villages in Papua are isolated. Thus, it is difficult for residents to connect with the outer world by land.

The only option left for them is to use air transportation services. However, there is a limited number of airline operators that are willing to serve remote areas in the province. Consequently, air passenger tickets are expensive and so are the fees for logistics, making the prices of goods in remote parts of Papua among the highest in the country.

In a bid to encourage airline operators to maintain their services in the province, the Papua administration is considering giving them incentives. For a start, the administration will allocate Rp 80 billion (US$ 6.02 million) in subsidies for flights serving the province’s remote areas.

Papua Transportation Agency head Djuli Mambaya said on Thursday that Governor Lukas Enembe launched the subsidy program at the Sentani airport in Jayapura on Wednesday. The subsidy is to be handed out to 12 airline operators serving remote areas in the province.

Djuli said the local administration hoped the subsidy would make airline companies more willing to serve remote areas in the province so that people in those remote areas could enjoy the fruits of development.

“With routine flights serving those villages, isolation can be minimized,” Djuli said.

He added that there were 386 airstrips in Papua, most of which were built by missionaries, where small-sized aircraft could land to reach people in isolated villages.

“The governor wants every Papuan, including those living in very remote areas, to see and feel the local administration’s attention,” he said.

The Rp 80 billion fund will be included in the province’s amended budget to be deliberated on around September 2016. The distribution of the fund will be regulated in a bylaw.

“A bylaw on the distribution of the flight subsidy fund will be issued,” said Djuli, adding that people whose regions were recipients of the subsidy would be required to pay for only 30 percent of the ticket price.

The 12 companies to receive the subsidy include AMA, MAF, Susi Air, Cenderawasih Air, Dimonim Air, Alda Air, Trigana Air, Jayasi, Tariku, Kembu Air, Alfatrans Dirgantara and Adventist Aviation.

The president director of PT AMA (Associated Mission Aviation), Djarot, appreciated the governor’s initiative, saying that his company had never received such a subsidy from the Papuan administration.

“It’s a very good plan to smooth out services to hinterland areas,” Djarot said.

Djarot said his company had worked with the Yalimo regency administration to transport rice for the poor and with the Bintuni and Arfak administrations in West Papua to transport passengers to hinterland areas.

“Subsidies from regional administrations are very important to smooth out air transportation because most of the regions in Papua can only be reached through the air,” Djarot said.