JAKARTA. National flagship carrier Garuda Indonesia on Wednesday opened a new route, flying to Gorontalo, a city in the northern part of Sulawesi.

“The new route to Gorontalo is part of the Garuda expansion program, that focuses on areas in eastern Indonesia,” Garuda communications vice president Pujobroto said in a statement.

Passengers traveling from Jakarta, Surabaya and Denpasar via Makassar could now reach Gorontalo the same day, Pujobroto said.

Garuda marketing and sales director Arif Wibowo said the new route was expected to open gateways for tourists and businesspeople visiting Gorontalo.

Gorontalo Governor Gusnar Ismail welcomed the opening of the new route.

“We hope the new route will help improve investment in the province and increase the number of tourists, bringing prosperity to the local economy,” Gusnar said.

Flights to Gorontalo will operate once a day using Garuda’s latest Boeing 737-800 Next Generation passenger aircraft, with 156 seats comprising 12 seats in business class and 144 in economy.

Garuda now flies to 32 cities and 18 international destinations. (The Jakarta Post)

Editor: Edy Can