Tigerair Mandala has opened a direct route between Yogyakarta, Java, and Palembang, Sumatra. The flights commenced on Oct.1.

'We are happy to have expanded our network and become the sole airline to serve this particular route,' said Tigerair Mandala president director Paul Rombeek at the launch of the route's inaugural flight at Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport, Palembang, on Tuesday.

He said the new route provided huge potential for the airline as the number of people traveling to the cities continued to increase.

The Yogyakarta Tourism Agency said 1.88 million people visited the city in 2012, up by 5 percent from the previous year. Palembang welcomed 2.46 million visitors in 2012, according to the Palembang Culture Agency.

There is one Yogyakarta-Palembang flight every day. Passengers travel on an Airbus A320.

'There is huge potential for the new route. It is only a one-hour-20-minute flight between the two cities,' said Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Airport head Eko Biantoro. Previously, passengers had to transit in Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

Apart from Yogyakarta, airline companies operating in Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II airport offers direct flights to Palembang from Batam, Lampung, Medan, Pangkal Pinang and Tanjung Pandan, as well as from Malaysia and Singapore. (ebf)

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