Meeting The Minister Of UAE Invertation, The Minister Of Transportation Discussed Opportunities For Opening The Flight Route To Labuan Bajo

Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi. (Photo: Doc. Ministry of Transportation)

JAKARTA - Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi held a bilateral meeting with Deputy Minister of Investment of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Mohammad Alhawi.

The two discussed the opportunity for the UAE to open flight routes to Komodo International Airport in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).

The second meeting took place at the Head Office of the Ministry of Transportation, Jakarta, on Monday, September 9.

Budi said various infrastructures had been built and developed in Labuan Bajo. This includes Komodo Airport, which is currently the gateway for air transportation on Flores Island, NTT.

Therefore, continued Budi, this was done in order to support the tourism potential in the regions which are one of the 10 'New Bali' tourist destinations.

"I hope the UAE Government can develop connectivity to Komodo Airport. That way, Labuan Bajo will be more known and more foreign tourists will visit it," he said.

For information, so far the transportation sector cooperation between Indonesia and the UAE has been well established.

Etihad Airways has operated flights from Abu Dhabi to Jakarta and Denpasar.

Then, continued Budi, Indonesia has approved eleven points for the implementation of the domestic codeshare as requested by the UAE.

That way, connectivity from the UAE to Indonesia is increasingly open.

"I am happy to be able to meet to discuss the development of cooperation in the transportation sector between Indonesia and the UAE. I also want to explore further development of our cooperation outside the aviation sector. I want to invite the UAE to participate in transportation infrastructure investments," said Budi.