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ow-cost carrier PT Citilink Indonesia, a subsidiary of Garuda Indonesia Group, conducted an operational test for its freighter fleet on Tuesday to support its cargo business.

The freighter, with a load capacity of 13 tons, is a Boeing B737-500 aircraft converted to carry cargo instead of passengers.

The conversion was done by Garuda Indonesia Group’s maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) subsidiary, PT Garuda Maintenance Facilities (GMF) AeroAsia, and has been certified by the Transportation Ministry’s Airworthiness and Aircraft Operation Directorate.

“Citilink hopes that the operation of the freighter will contribute quite significant additional income [to the airline], aside from the passenger revenue,” Citilink president director Juliandra said in a press release published on Wednesday.

He noted that the airline’s shift to cargo services was a move to seize opportunities in the growing cargo market.

On its test run yesterday, Citilink’s new freighter flew from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, to Hang Nadim International Airport in Batam, Riau Islands, and Kualanamu International Airport in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra.

The aircraft will enter operations after Idul Fitri, which falls on May 24 and 25, and will carry cargo for both domestic and foreign routes, especially those in the Asian region.

Many national airlines that predominantly operate passenger flights have reportedly shifted to the cargo business to cover losses from the COVID-19 pandemic that has severely hit passenger demand and airlines’ revenue.

According to data from the Finance Ministry, the combined revenue losses among local airlines amounted to Rp 207 billion (US$13.4 million) as of April 15.

Indonesian National Air Carriers Association (INACA) data show that the volume of domestic and international airfreight in Indonesia also dropped 39 percent from the average rate.

Meanwhile, Lion Air Group has cut salaries and delayed Idul Fitri bonus (THR) payments to employees while giving an assurance that no job terminations are in the pipeline as the airline grapples with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The group said on Wednesday that the salaries of its 29,000 employees had been cut since March and would remain so for “an indeterminate period” to minimize costs.

The group includes Lion Air, Wings Air and Batik Air, all of which resumed limited flights on May 10 after a two-week long ban on flights to contain the coronavirus spread.

“This situation has forced the company’s management to take steps to continue the airlines’ existence,” said Lion Air Group spokesman Danang Mandala Prihantoro in a statement, adding that group operations were only at 5 percent of the usual 1,000 flights a day.

The company is also set to delay THR payments due in May for middle and high-income employees. The former category includes mechanics and cabin crew and the latter includes cockpit crew and management.