Jakarta - Budget airline, Indonesia AirAsia (IAA), officially operates its first direct flight connecting Denpasar, Bali and Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara. The flight can facilitate air connectivity for people to and from Kupang.
"The inauguration of this first flight proves our commitment to continue to expand air network connectivity. The opening of this flight is a form of IAA's support in opening the gate and introducing NTT province tourism through Kupang, after previously opening routes to Labuan Bajo from Jakarta and Denpasar," said IAA Operations Director in Kupang, Capt. Wuri Septiawan in a statement obtained on Sunday (17/12/2023).
Capt. Wuri added that the existence of this flight can also encourage the desire of domestic and foreign tourists such as Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand to explore the beauty of Kupang tourism, NTT through Denpasar, Bali.
Likewise, the people of Kupang who want to travel through Denpasar, Bali to continue their journey to various destinations both domestic and international such as Surabaya, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok, and Perth.
The inaugural flight from I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS) to El Tari International Airport (KOE), which landed at 17:05 WITA received a water salute upon arrival. The IAA flight with code QZ 632 was also successful in carrying passengers with a 100 percent occupancy rate or as many as 180 passengers.
The event was also marked by the traditional cloth of East Nusa Tenggara to the pilot and cabin crew on duty.
"We welcome IAA's initiative to open the Denpasar-Kupang route. Hopefully this flight can be a symbol of closer connectivity, opening doors of opportunity and connecting NTT tourism which is full of potential to domestic and foreign tourists," said Assistant I of the East Nusa Tenggara Provincial Government Bernadeta Meriani Usboko.
Kupang tourism has its own charms that can be explored by tourists such as marine, natural, cultural and historical tourism, such as Oenesu Waterfall, Tablolong Beach, Crystal Cave, and Manikin Beach. Travelers can also visit several other East Nusa Tenggara province tourism options through Kupang such as Rote Island and Sabu Island, mainland Timor, Alor to Sumba and Flores.
Based on data from the East Nusa Tenggara Tourism and Creative Economy Office, from January to October 2023, around 500 thousand tourists have visited a number of tourist areas in NTT, of which 70 percent are foreign tourists.
The opening of the route to Kupang is expected to improve the tourism sector and economy of East Nusa Tenggara Province, which during the COVID-19 pandemic had experienced a decline. Especially with the Provincial Government's target to bring 1.5 million tourists to East Nusa Tenggara.
As for flight tickets on the Denpasar (DPS) to Kupang (KOE) route, they can already be booked through the airasia MOVE application (formerly airasia Superapp), airasia.com website, AirAsia Travel & Service Center (ATSC), online travel agencies, and other official ticket sales agents.
For group ticket bookings of 10 people or more, prospective passengers can contact AirAsia's Group Desk service via email to groupbooking_id@airasia.com.
Passengers can follow Indonesia AirAsia's latest news, activities and promotions, via Twitter (twitter.com/airasia_indo), Facebook (facebook.com/airasiasuperapp.id) and Instagram (instagram.com/flyairasia.id).
IAA also continues to urge customers who will be traveling to meet the travel requirements according to the latest provisions set by the government.
Also attending the inaugural flight was Indonesia AirAsia Operations Director Capt. Wuri Septiawan, along with Indonesia AirAsia Allstars who were welcomed by Acting Head of the East Nusa Tenggara Transportation Agency Mahadin Sibarani; Airport Operations, Services, Security and Technical Senior Manager Rony Setioko, as representative of the General Manager of Angkasa Pura I El Tari International Airport; First Marshal TNI Djoko Hadipurwanto, Commander of El Tari Air Force Base, President Director of the Labuan Bajo Flores Authority Shana Fatina, and General Manager of Airnav El Tari I Nyoman Oka Wirana. (InfoPublik)