AirAsia Group has pledged to support the government’s effort to boost tourist arrivals by opening new flights to Indonesia from cities in India and China this year.
“We are ready to support the government. We will add new aircraft and open new international routes,” Air Asia Group CEO for Indonesia Dendy Kurniawan said on Monday.
The airline will add two new aircraft of the Airbus A320 and A330 types. Currently, Air Asia accounts for around 25 percent of inbound flights to Indonesia, according to Tourism Ministry data.
The route to India was expected to commence in May, while that to China was expected to commence in October, said Tourism Minister Arief Yahya.
The government eyes to welcome 15 million foreign visitors this year and 20 million in 2019.
Arief said the government saw a two million shortage in seat capacity to achieve this year’s target.
