Garuda to fly wide body airplanes to Jayapura

National carrier Garuda Indonesia will begin operating wide body aircraft such as the Airbus 330 or the Boeing 777 to Jayapura, in the eastern province of Papua, next year.

The operation of wide body airplanes to Jayapura was part of the airlines efforts to expand its business to the eastern region of the country, President Director of Garuda Indonesia M Arif Wibowo said here on Friday.

Garuda Indonesia will begin operating the wide body airplanes to Jayapura in January or February next year, Wibowo said.

The expansion is also aimed at bolstering the tourism sector by luring more international and domestic tourists.

“We focus on international flights to boost inbound tourism,” Wibowo said, adding that the airline was trying to encourage tourists to visit the countrys eastern regions.

Wibowo said that the airport at Jayapura was ready to handle wide body airplanes such as the Airbus 330.

Using a wide body aircraft will increase the passenger load capacity to 222, from 160 at present in a smaller plane.