REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BANDUNG -- The West Java International Airport (BIJB) will start trial operations ahead and during the annual Islamic festivity of Lebaran this year, an official stated here on Monday. BIJB will offer five routes for holidaymakers.
"The trial operation will offer flight routes to five towns during the mudik (annual homebound exodus) season (from May to June) this year," Dedi Mulyadi, the West Java Transportation Office chairman, noted in Bandung on Monday.
Mulyadi stressed that the five cities comprise Medan in North Sumatra, Makassar in South Sulawesi, Balikpapan in Central Kalimantan, Denpasar in Bali, and Surabaya in East Java.
"Currently, the airport authority still awaits an order from the Transportation Minister (Budi Karya Sumadi). If he approves this trial operation, we will immediately start," Mulyadi remarked.
Following the plan, some airlines, including the Sriwijaya Air, have expressed interest to join the trial operations.
Mulyadi noted that at the end of May, the non-toll highway en route from Majalengka to the airport will be ready for use by passengers.
"Our target is to provide embarkation for Hajj pilgrims originating from Sumedang, Majalengka, and Cirebon. These pilgrims could board their flights from the West Java International Airport and transit at Soekarno Hatta and then Jeddah," Mulyadi emphasized.
On a separate occasion, the low-cost carrier PT Citilink Indonesia had yet to decide whether to offer flight services during the trial operations at the airport.
"We believe the c will offer a promising market for the airline industry," Juliandra Nurtjahjo, the president director of Citilink Indonesia, noted in Bandung, Sunday (Apr 15).
Nurtjahjo remarked that the newly built airport will not only be used by passengers from West Java but also those from the nearby district in Central Java.
"We are currently evaluating some routes for this market," he noted.
Citilink is one of the five airlines in Indonesia to have signed a memorandum of understanding with the authority to offer services at the airport.
During its first year of operations, the airport will provide 14 routes that are expected to serve 2.7 million passengers.
Following the trial, the authority has targeted some 5.6 million passengers to 45 million passengers following completion of the airport's construction.
Until today, the airport's construction has reached 92 percent completion, with only finishing and the interiors remaining.
With this progress, Mulyadi noted that the BIJB will commence operations in mid-2018.
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