KONTAN.CO.ID - Sriwajaya Air Group is set to open new flight routes to Raja Ampat in West Papua from Jakarta, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Semarang and Makassar.

“The new services will commence on Oct. 21. This is a form of our support for the government’s programs,” said the company’s senior corporate communications manager Agus Soedjono.

“[The new routes] also help the local residents to travel to other parts of Indonesia. With these flights, the access to and from Raja Ampat will be easier,” he added.

Other than Raja Ampat, the company also plans to open new flights to other places in Papua such as Fakfak and Kaimana.

Both Sriwijaya Air and NAM Air will serve flights to Papua, of which each will make a transit in Sorong and continue the flight using ATR 72-600 aircraft to Raja Ampat, Kaimana and Fakfak.

Back in 2015, CNN named Raja Ampat the World’s Best Snorkeling Site. Additionally, the data from The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Indonesia dubbed Raja Ampat as home of 75 percent of the world’s corals with 553 coral species and 1,437 coral reef species.

This year, Raja Ampat is targeting to welcome 40,000 tourists. Last year it aimed to attract 30,000 visitors.‎ (kes)

Editor: Yudho Winarto