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Wings Air, a subsidiary of the country's largest private carrier, the Lion Group, is launching flights between the Papua provincial capital of Jayapura with Wamena in an effort to strengthen its networks in the east of the country.
Wings Air operational director Capt. Redi Irawan said the carrier would fly twice daily between the two cities on Thursday, using a French-Italian turboprop Avions Transport Regional ATR 72-600, which has capacity for up to 72 passengers.
"We hope the new route will create easier access for people in Wamena who wish to go to Jayapura or to continue their journeys to other destinations in the country," Redi told The Jakarta Post Thursday, adding that both its budget carrier, Lion Air, and full-service airline Batik Air already link Jayapura with other points in the archipelago.
He said Wings planned to increase the number of Jayapura-Wamena flights from two per day to three as of Sept. 22 in order to meet demand.
"We are committed to linking more points in the central and eastern parts of Indonesia, which only have small airports, in the future," he said.
The carrier aims to connect Palu and Toli Toli (Central Sulawesi), Lombok and Bima (West Nusa Tenggara), and Kupang and Larantuka (East Nusa Tenggara) in the fourth quarter of this year.
Wings currently operates 29 ATR 72-500s and ATR 72-600s, and flies to more than 30 destinations in the country.