REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MANADO -- The country's national airlines Garuda Indonesia will start serving the route between the provincial city of Manado in North Sulawesi and Sorong of Papua province on June 20, 2014, a spokesman said.

"The inaugural flight using the 1,000 CRG type of aircraft, with a capacity of 12 passengers in business class and 84 in the economy class will take off at 4.50 a.m. Eastern Indonesia Standard Time," the branch manager of PT Garuda Indonesia in Manado, Boydike Kusudiarso, said here on Monday.

According to him, the Manado-Sorong flight route is scheduled for four times a week.

The economic growth in Papua has prompted the opening of the new Garuda flight route, he said.

Meanwhile, chief of the Mimika air communications office John Rettob said in Timika, Papua, on May 6 that Garuda will serve the route between Jakarta and Timika of Papua in mid-May via Makassar of South Sulawesi every day.

John added that Garuda is expected to immediately take over the route left by Merpati Nusantara, a government airline, which has stopped operation due to financial difficulties.

"According to the plan, it will start on May 15, but we have not received official information. We hope that it can be earlier as demand for air transport between Timika and Makassar is high as well as between Timika and Jayapura," he said.

He noted that Merpati Nusantara has stopped operation in the region since February and the transport ministry has offered a number of routes left by Merpati to other airlines.

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