Air Asia Opens First Flight to Labuan Bajo

The company will also explore opportunities to open the Labuan Bajo route from abroad.

PT Indonesia AirAsia opened its inaugural flight to Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara, NTT. The opening of the route is done to increase the number of passengers and tourist visits to these locations. "Today we began our inaugural flight from Denpasar, Bali to Labuan Bajo. The opening of this new route is part of supporting the government program about the development of 10 new Bali tourist destinations," said PT Indonesia AirAsia's Head of Relations and Policy Eddy Krismeidi Soemawilaga. Between , Thursday (1/8).

According to him, AirAsia became one of the airlines in Indonesia that supports the development of tourism in Labuan Bajo. Moreover, Labuan Bajo is now one of the leading tourist destinations by domestic and foreign tourists. He added that in his first flight to Labuan Bajo, the response of the community was very positive. This can be seen from the number of passenger seats from Denpasar-Labuan Bajo that are fully loaded. "Inaugural direct flights full 10 seats fully loaded. While from Labuan Bajo, currently 144 seats are still filled," he added.

He stated that going forward, the company would explore a number of possibilities to open the Labuan Bajo route from abroad.

Labuan Bajo Arrangement The government is paying serious attention to the development of the tourism sector. This sector is considered important and potential to bring in foreign exchange. The Labuan Bajo is being targeted as one of the tourist areas that is relied upon to attract premium tourists. President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) ordered the Labuan Bajo infrastructure to be completed by year. In particular, he requested the acceleration of airport construction and the separation of container ports.

Jokowi said, airport management would be determined through an auction system with international tourism network standards. "The terminal will be enlarged, the runway will be extended, the maximum is complete by next year," he said in an official statement on Thursday (11/7). This former mayor of Solo considers the arrangement of the Labuan Bajo area to be very important because the tourist market segmentation is premium. So, he asked to make a long road along the coast so that foreign tourists enjoy the view.

Original source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/07/12/revamp-to-make-labuan-bajo-fit-for-premium-tourists.html