A bilateral air service agreement between Saudi Arabia and Indonesia will be implemented in June. “Flight reservations to and from Indonesia will no longer be a problem for those who want to visit the country this summer,” said Gatot Abdullah Mansyur, Consul General of Indonesia. “The government of the Republic of Indonesia and the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2008 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the implementation of bilateral air services,” he explained. The agreement mentioned that both countries shall have the right to designate in writing to the other contracting party one or more airline for the purpose of operating the agreed services. “It enables other carriers besides Garuda and Saudi Arabian Airlines to fly to Indonesia and boost the friendly ties between the two countries,” he said. The agreement also mentions that Indonesian airlines will operate to and from Jeddah, Dammam and Riyadh while Saudi Arabian Airlines will operate to and from Jakarta, Surabaya (East Java), Medan (North Sumatra), Makasar (South Sulawesi) and Denpasar (Bali ). Indonesian and Saudi airlines will operate 21 scheduled round trip flights and seven weekly round trip cargo flights without any restrictions imposed on aircraft type, the Consul General told Saudi Gazette. “Both countries agreed to schedule routes between Madina and Indonesia after the Madina airport expansion plan has been implemented and all the technical requirements have been set,” he said. “Until such time, the designated airlines can operate only Haj and Umra flights on a charter basis or extra flights subject to the capacity of Madina airport,” explained the CG. The agreement was signed based on furthering and developing the friendly and cooperative relations existing between the two countries based on equality and mutual benefit, said Bambang Sudaryono, head of Transportation Affairs at the consulate. “As Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country, it is a great market for international airlines. More than 12 airlines in the Kingdom fly to Jakarta regularly to serve more than 650,000 Indonesians including Haj and Umra pilgrims yearly,” said Sudaryono. Garuda currently operates 12 flights weekly from Jeddah to Jakarta, with seven nonstop flights to Jakarta and other flights via Riyadh, said Nasrizal Ali Munir, Senior General Manager of Garuda Indonesia for Middle East and Europe.
