KUCHING: The Sarawak government has held discussions with several Indonesian airlines to facilitate the introduction of additional direct flights between Indonesia and Sarawak.
During his recent visit to Indonesia, Minister of Tourism, Creative Industries and Performing Arts Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said he had engaged in meetings with two airlines from Indonesia.
“The Sarawak government welcomes any airlines that want to add or open new routes from Jakarta, Surabaya, Bali and Medan to here.
“(On behalf of the Sarawak government), we also hope that Malaysia Airlines will offer the same route,” he was quoted as saying in a report by TVS.
Abdul Karim said these routes could act as a feeder flights for the Borneo Umrah Hub departing from Kuching which is scheduled to start next month.
“Hence, that is why we are working with the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy and trying to improve bilateral tourism promotion,” he said.
Presently, AirAsia already provides direct flights from Jakarta to Kuching. Additionally, the Kuching-Pontianak route, suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is currently in the process of being reinstated.
AirAsia announced a new tri-weekly direct flight from Jakarta to Kuching and vice versa which started on June 15 this year.
Currently, AirAsia flies between Singapore and three Sarawak cities — Kuching, Miri and Sibu — making it the airline with the widest network between Singapore and Sarawak.
This is in addition to its domestic service within Sarawak, Malaya and Sabah.
Jakarta becomes the second city in the Asean region to be connected with Sarawak by AirAsia.
