Indonesia's air traffic increases by 15 percent in 2011

Indonesia's air traffic increases by 15 percent in 2011

2012-01-26 08:21:40 GMT+7 (ICT)

JAKARTA, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- Indonesia's Transportation Ministry on Wednesday announced that the country's passenger air traffic increased by 15 percent in 2011, when compared to the previous year, local media reported.

Djoko Murjatmodjo, the Ministry's air transportation director, said the number of airline passengers reached 66 million in 2011 with a total of 58.84 million domestic travelers and 7.2 million international travelers.

"The data indicates strong economic growth in Indonesia as well as a strong domestic-airline market," said Djoko, as quoted by The Jakarta Post.

Compared to 2010, a year in which the number of domestic travelers was 51.7 million and international travelers 6.6 million, the 15 percent increase last year met the country's air traffic growth target.

Ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan noted that, despite the current global economic crisis triggered by struggling European countries, the Asian market continues to be promising. He said the global economic crisis is unlikely to affect Indonesia's air traffic.

Bambang signaled Indonesia's flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, which has opened new routes to Tokyo through Haneda and Taipei this year and reduced their Amsterdam flights, as an indicator of such economic prospects.

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