The Transportation Ministry will continue to provide subsidies to airlines that operate “pioneer flights” to and from rural areas as part of a government program on improving the connectedness of isolated areas.

In 2020, the ministry will allocate Rp 500 billion (US$35.94 million) to subsidize pioneer flights serving passengers and cargo services in remote areas in Sulawesi, Maluku and Madura. The pioneer flights, known locally as penerbangan perintis, refer to economically unviable flights between cities and frontier areas.

“It is part of the government’s commitment to improving the connectedness of remote and border areas. Hopefully, this program can provide transportation that allows access to rural areas, especially frontier areas that can only be reached by air,” Civil Aviation Directorate General director Polana B. Pramesti said in Jakarta on Thursday.

The subsidies, which have been provided since 2017, are given to airline operators that launch pioneer flights on designated routes. Polana said the subsidy program had cut the price of staple food by 40 percent in remote areas, especially in Papua.

This year, 188 routes in 20 regions will receive a subsidy for passenger transportation and 27 routes in five regions will receive a subsidy for cargo transportation.

The regions include Nabire, Timika, Wamena, Dekai, Manokwari, Sorong, Merauke, Tanah Merah, Gunung Sitoli, Dabo Singkep, Langgur, Kuala Pembuang, Sumenep, Tarakan, Samarinda, Ternate and Masamba.

The airline operators that will launch pioneer flights include Susi Air, Smart Cakrawala Aviation Company (Smart Aviation), Trigana Air, Dimonim Air and Asian One Air.

The subsidies are expected to not only help lower cargo and logistics costs in remote areas but also benefit small airline operators. Nonscheduled commercial airline company Smart Aviation is one of the companies that hopes to survive by providing pioneer flights.

Smart Aviation president director Pongky Majaya said Thursday the subsidy could help cut operational costs by up to 10 percent for its cargo flights. The subsidy is usually given following the completion of a route.

“We serve the route first and then claim the subsidy from the government once a month,” Pongky said.

Currently, Smart Aviation provides pioneer cargo services in five areas in Papua including Timika, Nabire and Dekai. For the subsidized flights, the airline company operates nine Cessna Caravan aircraft.

With the subsidy, the airline could reduce operational costs while expanding its services to a wider area, he said.

“The benefits of the subsidy for us is we can expand our service to more rural areas as well as add more flights,” he said. “This year, we also plan to operate three more aircraft.”

With its mountainous terrain, Papua relied heavily on pioneer flights for passengers and goods to reach its rural areas, Pongky said, adding that the demand for air cargo transportation in rural parts of Papua had continued to increase. Every day, the company’s airplanes carry between 5 and 6 tons of cargo.

However, while the new flights present business opportunities, they also come with greater safety risks. “The most challenging issue is safety and also weather conditions,” Pongky said, explaining that the company mostly hired foreign pilots to travel to and from Papua due to its challenging geographical conditions.

Pongky said he hoped that, that in the future, the government would improve navigation technology and build wider, longer runways to reduce safety risks.

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