KUCHING: The flight connectivity between Kuching and Pontianak is pending approval from the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation.
Sarawak Transport Minister Datuk Seri Lee Kim Shin said the ministry is giving full support to AirAsia for the flight to resume and has constantly raised the matter.
“I’ve personally spoken to Consul General of Republic of Indonesia in Kuching, Raden Sigit Witjaksono, and he is aware of it.
“However, approval from the Ministry of Transportation Indonesia is still pending,” he told a press conference after welcoming AirAsia’s inaugural Jakarta-Kuching flight at the Kuching International today.
Meanwhile, Raden said there had been four discussions and had reported to the ministry concerned in Indonesia on the issue.
“I believe that all the related ministries will raise this issue and hopefully we can expect the Kuching-Pontianak flight to be realised before year end,” said Raden.
Meanwhile, on the 147 passengers onboard the flight from Jakarta, he noted that some of the passengers are from Pontianak.
“This indicates that there are interest from both sides (Pontianak and Kuching).
“Hopefully, with collaboration from the related stakeholders, we can realise this as soon as possible,” he added.
Last year, Lee had said that flight connectivity between Kuching and Pontianak will resume by year end following numerous requests to connect the two cities.
