Emirates Interested in Reopening Indonesia Routes

KOMPAS.com – Emirates Airlines is hoping it can restart its Indonesia routes as a means of reviving the global airline industry that has been left crippled by the pandemic.

Emirates Country Manager Indonesia, Abdalla Al Zamani, said that the pandemic threw a curveball for the global airline industry and that of tourism.

“For the first time in history, our commercial flights came to a complete halt for nearly eight weeks in April and May.”

However, the global airline industry is slowly picking up the pieces and Emirates Airlines is no exception as it is working towards restoring its operations to pre-pandemic levels.

Read also: Qatar Airways Resumes Flights to Indonesia's Bali

Rebuilding networks

Abdalla said that the company is still attempting to rebuild its networks, including its Indonesia routes, and its passenger operations.

“Thus far, we have reinitiated our network in 98 destinations across the world with Hamburg and Dusseldorf having been the latest added onto our list last November 1. Lyon will soon follow.”

Abdalla reassured that Emirates’ network will strengthen as the airline strives to bring back Indonesia routes during the pandemic.

In mid-June 2020, the airline offered three flights per week to Jakarta and had gradually increased the frequency to six times per week as of August 3. The goal for December 2, 2020, is seven flights per week to Indonesia.

Read also: Indonesian Airlines Slash Ticket Prices in Response to Government Stimulus

Similar to corporate measures pre-pandemic, the airline is restoring its operations in phases and slowly although it has no plans on adding new routes to Indonesia.

Abdalla believes that it is too early to predict the situation for next year.

“Right now, we are focused on reopening our network. We are highly interested in opening our route to Bali as it is a very popular destination in the world.”

“When we had a route to Bali, we received numerous positive feedback from passengers from Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the US. Bali is a special island.”

Rise in demand

Although demand for the global airline industry nosedived during the pandemic, industry players claim that it is slowly picking up steam.

“Governments around the world are starting to reopen their borders. We work with the local and international authorities to increase the number of passengers and we have seen an uptick.”

Read also: Foreign Visitors Must Wait Longer before They Can Visit Bali Again

According to Abdalla, the desire to travel is growing with more people becoming restless and tiresome having to stay at home. These individuals are the ones Abdalla finds are the most eager to go on international trips.

“We are seeing an increase in demand for some destinations especially Dubai. Dubai remains interesting for international travelers and I think that Indonesians quite enjoy visiting the city.”

While Abdalla could not provide any statistics in increased demand touted by the global airline industry, he reassured that Emirates will continue to fulfill existing travel demands.

“I can guarantee that Indonesia is one of our key markets and we will continue cooperating with the tourism body and authorities regarding promoting our Indonesia routes. We would also like to promote our outbound flights from Indonesia to Dubai and the world.”

(Writer: Syifa Nuri Khairunnisa | Editor: Kahfi Dirga Cahya)

Source: https://travel.kompas.com/read/2020/11/30/182000127/emirates-pulihkan-penerbangan-berharap-rute-ke-bali-dibuka-lagi?page=all#page2