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Three airlines named to fly 32 pioneer routes
Three local airlines including PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines (Merpati), PT Nusantara Buana Air (NBA), and PT Asi Pudjiastuti Aviation (Susi Air) won the government’s tender to serve nearly 35 new routes this year
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hree local airlines including PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines (Merpati), PT Nusantara Buana Air (NBA), and PT Asi Pudjiastuti Aviation (Susi Air) won the government’s tender to serve nearly 35 new routes this year.
Merpati secured 10 routes in Sabu, East Nusa Tenggara; Merauke, Papua; and Nabire, Papua with a Rp 32.08 billion (US$3.52 million) subsidy from the ministry.
Among the routes the airline will fly are Sabu-Ende, Sabu-Waingapu, Merauke-Okaba, Merauke-Kimaam, Merauke-Mindaptanah, and Nabire-Timika.
In addition, NBA has secured more than 12 routes in Takengon, Aceh; Gunung Sitoli, North Sumatra; and Bengkulu with a Rp 34.7 billion ($3.81 million) subsidy. Meanwhile, Susi Air has secured more than 13 routes in Aceh; Ketapang, West Kalimantan; and Samarinda, East Kalimantan with Rp 16.64 billion ($1.83 million) in support from the ministry.
“They are able to operate the pioneer routes as soon as they won the tender,” the ministry’s acting air transportation director Djoko Murjatmodjo said.
The 35 routes are part of the 132 non-commercial pioneer airline routes put out to tender this year. The winners of the other routes will be announced in the coming months. The government allocated about Rp 296.47 billion in subsidies in the 2012 state budget to support the operation of the new routes. Of the total, Rp 279.19 billion is allocated for operational costs, such as for airport operation, and the other Rp 17.27 billion is reserved to partly finance the airlines’ fuel spending.
The government’s subsidy accounts for between 30 and 40 percent of the total operational costs. Moreover, the fares for the routes are regulated for by the government. Under the transportation ministerial decree no. 73/2011, the fare ranges between Rp 101,000 and Rp 359,000 depending on the distance.
Bambang Ervan, the ministry’s spokesman said that the 132 routes were located in 17 provinces across the country, mostly in eastern parts of Indonesia.
In 2011, the government provided Rp 284 billion for the operation of 132 new routes in 14 provinces. (nfo)
