The MoU was one of the agreements signed during the recent visit of Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to Jakarta and Bogor, West Java.

Private carrier PT Sriwijaya Air, which has never flown to Saudi Arabia, said it was mulling over opening flights connecting Jakarta to Jeddah and Madinah, as well as Medan in North Sumatra to Jeddah this year.

“We truly welcome the commitment to unlimited air travel. It provides opportunities for Indonesian and Saudi Arabian airlines to take advantage of the market,” Sriwijaya Air commercial director Toto Nursatyo said recently.

Sriwijaya currently operates a fleet of 52 narrow-body aircraft and planned to welcome 17 more aircraft this year, two of which would be wide body. The use of wide body aircraft was considered more efficient for airlines in flying long-haul.

At present, only three domestic airlines — PT Garuda Indonesia, PT Citilink Indonesia and PT Lion Mentari Airlines (Lion Air) — fly to Saudi Arabia.

They provide routes to Dammam, Jeddah, Madinah and Riyadh.

Saudi Arabian airlines can fly to five Indonesian cities, namely Medan, Makassar in South Sulawesi, Surabaya in East Java, Denpasar in Bali and Banten-Jakarta.

Last year, one million passengers flew from Indonesia to Saudi Arabia. However, with the previous limitation of 35 flights per week, airlines of both countries only facilitated 400,000 passengers of the total figure.

“Such a limitation forced a lot of passengers to transit in other countries, like from Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur [in Malaysia], then to Jeddah,” Toto said.

With the MoU, several other cities and towns, including Taif in Saudi Arabia, Palembang in South Sumatra, Surakarta in Central Java and Balikpapan in East Kalimantan, would also offer flights, though at a limit of seven flights per week.

The MoU was also seen as a positive move for haj and umrah [minor haj] activities. An average of 650,000 people go to the holy city each year just for umrah, with an annual business value worth around US$1 billion.

Transportation Ministry air transportation director Maryati Karma said domestic airlines were ready to increase services to cater to the umrah market.

“When it [flight frequency] is unlimited like this, the flight fare for umrah will fall,” she said.

Private carrier Lion Air, meanwhile, said it would look into the possibility of penetrating the market deeper. It currently flies to Madinah and Jeddah from cities like Jakarta, Surabaya and Makassar.

“Even though there was no strain in capacity, we have to assess the market as well,” Lion Air Group president director Edward Sirait said.

Lion Air would explore the possibility of connecting a Saudi city to Bali, which enjoyed flourishing tourism in the wake of King Salman’s visit.

The plan to connect Bali was also in Garuda Indonesia’s mind as it had previously stated it would consider connecting Riyadh to Bali.

The Tourism Ministry targeted 360,000 Saudi tourist visits to Indonesia this year, an increase from 240,000 last year.

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