Asking Pelita Air To Focus On Working On Domestic Routes, Erick Thohir: If There Is An International Permit, Don't Give It!

Photo: Doc. Water Lamp

JAKARTA - Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Erick Thohir said that Pelita Air will only focus on serving domestic routes. This means that Pelita Air will not be allowed to work on international routes.

The reason, continued Erick, is because Pelita Air as a subsidiary of Pertamina will focus on becoming the backbone of Indonesia's domestic flights. He hopes Pelita Air can compete globally.

"I've talked about Pelita Air focusing on domestic. Not international flights. It should be noted, yes, if there is an international permit, don't issue it. Don't give it," he said in his remarks for the Inauguration of Pelita Air's Flight Ceremony, Thursday, April 28.

Erick believes that the potential for domestic flights will improve again. This refers to the percentage of tourism in the period before the COVID-19 pandemic. Erick said, 72 percent of tourism is domestic. Meanwhile, the remaining 28 percent are international tourists.

"What is interesting is the question, why was Pelita Air born and driven to transform? I believe we know the tremendous potential for domestic flights in Indonesia, domestic flights," he said.

On that occasion, Erick also asked Pelita Air not to focus. This means that domestic flights and the development of domestic potential must be a top priority.

"Not being stingy, but this is also important. It is a potential and a pity, especially now that it has started to rise but people get expensive tickets. Very expensive," he said.

For your information, PT Pertamina (Persero) through its subsidiary PT Pelita Air Service (PAS) realizes its commitment to support the development of the air transportation industry and strengthen connectivity in the country by serving scheduled commercial flights or regular flights.

The momentum was marked by the start of Pelita Air on air today, serving the Jakarta route from Terminal III Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Tangerang to I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport, Bali.

The inaugural regular flight of the Airbus A320-200 took off at 09.20 WIB and arrived at 12.10 WITA for one flight. Followed by the second route with the opposite destination, namely Jakarta-Bali with a flight at 14:55 WITA and arriving at 15:45 WIB. Currently, these routes and flight schedules have a frequency of once per day.