Direct Jakarta Flights Mooted

KHMER TIMES
MAY KUNMAKARA

Garuda Indonesia could fly directly to Phnom Penh if there is a high enough passenger load. Reuters

Direct flights between Phnom Penh and Indonesia’s capital Jakarta may soon be a reality, if a current feasibility study by the country’s national airline, Garuda Indonesia, suggests it is viable.

While a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two countries concerning direct flights has already been signed, Indonesian Ambassador Pitono Purnomo said that he hoped direct flights would prove financially feasible.

“The flight time between Phnom Penh to Jakarta is only two and a half hours. It’s not far,” said Mr. Purnomo.

“Without direct flights we have to go through Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, and the whole journey takes five to six hours with transit time. So, I am trying to have our airlines fly to Cambodia direct,” he said last week.

“Last month I met with the CEO of Garuda Indonesia and the CEO told me that they are currently considering it, and are looking into flying here,” Mr. Purnomo said, noting that the MoU also allows Cambodian airlines to fly directly to Jakarta.

“For the time being, daily flights to Cambodia or Indonesia fly via Bangkok, with a code share with Bangkok Airlines,” he added.

Sinn Chansereyvutha, spokesperson for the Secretariat of State for Civil Aviation said that while the MoU had been signed “for years,” demand for the direct flight service between Phnom Penh and Jakarta had not yet been determined.

“We welcome and are really happy to have direct flights, because it would not only to boost economic ties but also attract more tourists,” he told Khmer Times yesterday.

“But I think the airlines are still studying the market because number of passengers at the moment is not large enough. As with any businesses they must think of whether the venture is profitable or not,” he said, adding that interest by Garuda Indonesia in the idea had been mentioned a number of times over the past few years.

Cambodia and Indonesia signed a visa exemption agreement in June 2012, with the stated aim of boosting trade and tourism flow between the two countries.

According to data from the Ministry of Tourism, Indonesia ranked seventh among Asean tourists to Cambodia last year, with 43,147 arrivals, and increase of 21 percent from the year before, yet still less than one percent of total arrivals.