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New airport, Wings Air connect Central Sulawesi cities
The new Maleo Airport is providing access and cutting down hours of road travel for travelers in Central Sulawesi.
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The picturesque view of Bolilanga Island, a part of Togean Islands, an archipelago in the gulf of Tomini in Central Sulawesi. (Shutterstock/File)
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ince it opened in March, the new 158-hectare Maleo Airport in Morowali regency, Central Sulawesi, is becoming a hub for connecting flights to Palu in Central Sulawesi, Kendari in Southeast Sulawesi and Makassar in South Sulawesi.
One of the domestic carriers flying to and from the new airport is Wings Air, which completed its inaugural flight from Morowali to Kendari and Makassar on July 6. According to a statement released to KompasTravel, it completed another inaugural flight from Morowali to Palu on Sunday, July 8.
Bearing the flight code IW, Wings Air connects flies the Morowali-Palu route three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Flights depart Maleo Airport (MOH) at 9:30 a.m. and arrive at 10:10 a.m. local time to Palu's Mutiara SIS-Al Jufri Airport (PLW). Meanwhile, the return flight departs Palu at 10:40 a.m. and arrives at 11:20 a.m.in Morowali.
Read also: Wings Air to open new route to three cities from Jakarta
Morowali secretary Jafar Hamid told KompasTravel that the region had the potential to open access to travelers from Kendari, Palu and Makassar, and would save them dozens of hours traveling by road.
Traveling between Palu to Morowali normally takes an 11- to 13-hour bus ride, while only a 45-minute flight connects the two cities. As for traveling between Kendari and Morowali, travelers can opt for a 45-minute flight instead of traveling 8-10 hours by land.
Meanwhile, the 22-hour overland travel between Makassar and Morowali can now be replaced by a 1-hour, 15-minute plane ride.
Maleo Airport is in Umbele hamlet of Bumiraya village, Morowali, about an hour from the city center. (mut)
