West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi (KDM) plans to transfer part of the annual operational funds spent by the West Java Provincial Government for BIJB Kertajati amounting to IDR 60 billion to Susi Air.
This transfer will be used as an operational subsidy for Susi Air flights, which Dedi believes will be a step to revive Kertajati.
"Earlier, Mrs. Susi (Pudjiastuti) asked about the operational costs given (per year), I said it was around IDR 60 billion per year, and I just said today, Mrs. Susi offered to use the money to subsidize flights in Kertajati," said Dedi in Bandung, West Java, Wednesday.
The plan is that the subsidy will be used for five flight routes, namely Cilacap-Kertajati, Purwokerto-Purbalingga-Kertajati, Semarang-Kertajati, Yogyakarta-Kertajati and Tasikmalaya-Kertajati.
"So bring passengers into Kertajati. What's important is bringing passengers into Kertajati. Earlier, Mrs. Susi and I decided that Susi Air will also pave Kertajati. Fly again in Kertajati. With the five routes mentioned earlier. So I want to try both. Before building the big one, we start with the small one," said Dedi.
This, said Dedi, is an effort to save Kertajati to support the steps being taken, namely focusing on international flights, especially for the Hajj and Umrah.
"Well, actually, the Hajj and Umrah flights can run with domestic flights," he said.
However, Dedi said that there were problems in being able to go hand in hand, one of which was the large investment, so he took steps to subsidize Susi Air.
This subsidy, said Dedi, was also because he heard a story from Susi Pudjiastuti that one of Kertajati's other problems was the plane crew who had to leave for Jakarta and if they went by land using an escort, it would take four hours, which he said was impossible.
"That's impossible because of the length of time he flies in a day, where the pilot's working hours are only nine hours. Therefore, there must be a route from Halim to Kertajati first to transport the aircraft crew.
