Garuda Closes Unprofitable Flight Routes, President Director: We're Sorry

President Director of Garuda Indonesia Irfan Setiaputra. (Photo: Doc. ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Garuda Indonesia President Director, Irfan Setiaputra apologized for having to close flight routes that were deemed unprofitable.

Irfan said the closure of this flight route is part of the financial and business restructuring that the company is currently working on to make it healthy again.

Based on Irfan's explanation, Garuda Indonesia has 172 routes consisting of 133 domestic routes and 39 international routes as of 2019.

These routes will continue to be reduced in detail to 96 routes consisting of 65 domestic and 31 international by 2022.

Meanwhile, in 2023, Garuda's routes will be 72 (52 domestic and 20 international).

Meanwhile, from 2024 to 2026, there will be 74 routes (55 routes and 19 international routes).

"So we will only do maintenance on around 70 routes (Garuda Indonesia) while we will monitor one by one. We apologize if we don't serve the routes of our constituents, ladies, and gentlemen. Later, Citilink will serve it", he said in a Working Meeting with House of Representatives Commission XI, Monday, September 26.

For the Citilink route, said Irfan, in 2019 there were 116 flight routes consisting of 105 domestic and 11 international.

These routes will also be gradually reduced, but in fewer numbers than Garuda Indonesia.

In 2019, Citilink's routes were reduced to 94 routes, all of which are domestic routes, by 2023 to 84 routes, consisting of 83 domestic and 1 international.

Meanwhile, in 2024 there will be 88 routes consisting of 84 domestic and 4 international.

While 2025, there will be 95 routes consisting of 90 domestic and 5 international. Then, in 2026 there will be 99 routes consisting of 94 domestic and 5 international.

"But we will try our best to be served by Citilink. There are 116 Citilinks, the decrease is not significant to 99 and several routes handled by Garuda such as Gunung Sitoli will be handled by Citilink", said Irfan.

On this occasion, Irfan emphasized that in principle as a national airline, the company must always be able to profit.

Therefore, the provision of PMN worth IDR 7.5 trillion will certainly not repeat past corruption cases.

"This is what we need to understand and understand to ensure that the IDR 7.5 trillion approved by God willing by these leadership men will certainly not be repeated in the past Garuda case", he said.