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rivately owned Mandala Airlines is set to open four new routes in December, connecting Padang, West Sumatra and Denpasar, Bali with other major cities in Indonesia and Singapore.

Mandala commercial director Brata Rafly said the routes would be Padang–Jakarta, Padang–Singapore, Denpasar–Surabaya and Denpasar–Singapore.

“The new routes will help develop the business and tourism sectors in cities that we connect,” Brata said in a statement sent to The Jakarta Post on Friday.

He also said that the opening of new routes reflected Mandala’s commitment to improving connectivity in the country.

“For the Padang routes, we hope the new service will help grow the economy of Padang and West Sumatra because Singapore is a multiethnic and developed country,” he said.

West Sumatra Governor Irwan Prayitno said that he was delighted with Mandala’s presence in Padang.

“This is a good news. We are going to prepare infrastructure and human resources here to better serve the domestic and foreign tourists visiting Padang,” Irwan said.

After its acquisition by Singapore-based Tiger Airways, Mandala opened flights from Jakarta to Medan, North Sumatra on April 5. The budget carrier also serves the Medan-Singapore, Jakarta-Bangkok and Jakarta-Kuala Lumpur routes.