NTB Provincial Government Explores Australian-Lombok Direct Flights

Tourist Areas In Lombok, NTB/DOK ANTARA

MATARAM - The Provincial Government of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB Provincial Government) continues to explore direct flight plans between Australia and Lombok.

Head of the NTB Transportation Agency Lalu Moh Faozal said the assessment of the direct flight plan was mainly from Perth Australia to Lombok.

"We are exploring all direct flights, especially Perth Australia," said Lalu Faozal, in Mataram, as reported by ANTARA, Friday, August 18.

He said the opportunity for direct flights from Perth Australia is quite wide open. Because in terms of business, it is quite profitable, especially in terms of Australian tourists who go to Lombok are quite large.

"Because it talks business, so which one benefits the airline the most will definitely take. But our last communication with the airline is that in the short term it is most likely to open from Perth-Lombok," said Faozal.

There are two airline operators who will serve the route, namely Jetstar and AirAsia. It's just that according to Faozal, for the Jetstar airline, the flight slot is likely to be full.

"For airlines whose base is Australia (Jetstar, ed) has run out, actually only airlines from Indonesia still have seats, such as AirAsia. Because of this flight, two sides must be balanced between the number of passengers from Indonesia and Australia," said the former Head of the NTB Tourism Office.

Faozal emphasized that there was no request for subsidies by the airline to the local government, so that it could serve direct flights.

"There has been no discussion until the subsidy request. But they are still calculating, because there is something that must be discussed with the airline, especially the B to B agreement between Australia and Indonesia," he said again.

However, he said, given the business-related aviation issue, the airline needs to ensure that passengers when the route is really opened.

"Once again, this is about the seating capacity, because the question of this flight must be balanced between the number of passengers who go and return both from Indonesia and Australia," he said.

It is known that tourists from neighboring Malaysia dominate visits to NTB through the arrival gate of Zainuddin Abdul Madjid International Airport (Bizam) in Central Lombok Regency.

"That's data from January 1 to July 31, 2023," said Head of the NTB Tourism Office, Jamaluddin Malady.

The details are in first place in Malaysia as many as 9,965 people. Followed in second place in Singapore as many as 4,581 people, in third place in England as many as 1,604 people, and the fourth Germany as many as 1,217 people.

Then, France's fifth was 1,125 people, China 959 people, the United States 763 people, Australia 744 people, the Netherlands 573 people, and India 427 people, bringing the total to 21,958 people.

"This is just what comes in through the airport using planes, not yet those who enter from our port, especially those who come from Bali to Gili Trawangan. This can only take up to 2,500-3,000 tourists a day who come to Gili Trawangan," he said.

According to him, the number of tourists who come to NTB is predicted to continue to increase until the end of 2023, as a number of airlines plan to open new international routes, including Super Air Jet from Malaysia to Lombok on August 23.

"Usually those who serve Malaysia-Lombok every day are Asian Air airlines, now there are more Super Air Jets. And Malaysia is our market," he said.

"Not to mention Air Asia which plans to open the Perth route or Melbourne Australia. This communication continues," said Jamaluddin.

He is optimistic that the plan to attend new international routes, and tourists who come through three ports in Bali to three Gili (Trawangan, Meno and Air), including in the Mandalika Special Economic Zone (SEZ), a target of 2 million tourists to NTB can be achieved in 2023.

"So the existence of these new routes will add tourists to NTB, especially from abroad, therefore we thank Angkasa Pura, the NTB Transportation Service, tourism industry players and all parties for the cooperation so far," he said.