P

eople in Yahukimo, a remote regency in Papua, have hailed the opening of a new commercial flight route that connects the regency’s capital, Dekai, to Jayapura, the capital of the Papua province.

Wings Air, a subsidiary of the country’s largest domestic flight operator, Lion Air, opened the Jayapura-Dekai route on Nov. 30, following the inauguration of Dekai’s Nop Goliat Airport by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Oct. 18.

Yahukimo Regent Abock Busup said the people in the mountainous regency had hoped to have more flights connecting the area with other cities in the province.

“We really appreciate Wings Air for opening the route, but Yahukimo residents need larger planes. Two weeks ago, the Nop Goliat Airport head and I talked with Transportation Minister [Budi Karya Sumadi] to see if flights to and from Dekai could use jet-powered planes, such as a Boeing B737,” he told reporters in Jayapura recently.

Wings Air, which operates short domestic routes, flies French-Italian made ATR 72-600 planes for the route, which can accommodate up to 72 passengers.

For the Jayapura-Dekai flight, a plane departs daily from Sentani Airport in Jayapura at 1:30 p.m. and from Nop Goliat at 2:45 p.m.

With a flight duration time of only 50 minutes, tickets for the flight range from Rp 900,000 (US$67) to Rp 920,000.

Lion Air’s Papua regional manager Agung Setio Wibowo said demand for the route was high.

According to him, Wings Air planned the route during the day because it would help passengers who have connecting flights to and from other areas.

“It will help passengers coming from cities other than Jayapura, such as Merauke, Wamena and Makassar, so they won’t have to spend a night in Jayapura before flying to Dekai,” he said.

He added that Wings Air had supported the government’s priority to develop remote regions.

“Why shouldn’t we fly to Dekai? Even the presidential aircraft can land at the airport,” he said.

During his visit to Yahukimo in October, Jokowi also launched the government’s one-price fuel program for people in the region.

Agung added that Wings Air had also planned to open a new route connecting Dekai and Timika by the end of this year.

Nop Goliat Airport head Joko Harjani said the new daily route had significantly helped ease the load of the airport.

Previously, passengers flying between Jayapura and Dekai were only served by Trigana Air, which also operates ATR aircraft.

A Dekai resident, Dian, said she was pleased with the new route.

“Before, we had to be on a waiting list to get a flight to or from Dekai. It could take up to a week before a flight was available,” she explained.