Citilink Luncurkan Penerbangan Umroh Surabaya - Jeddah
Citilink Launches Surabaya to Jedda Flight for Minor Pilgrimage
Reporter : Gusmiati Waris
Editor : Cahyani Harzi
Translator : Dhelia Gani
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Jakarta (B2B) - Citilink sebagai maskapai penerbangan berbiaya murah (LCC) akan membuka rute penerbangan umroh Surabaya-Jeddah pada bulan Maret mendatang. Pembukaan rute baru ini merupakan respon atas tingginya permintaan penerbangan umroh dari Surabaya ke Jeddah.
VP Corporate Communications Citilink Indonesia, Benny Butarbutar mengatakan penerbangan Surabaya menuju Jeddah akan dilakukan tiga kali dalam seminggu yaitu pada hari Selasa, Kamis, dan Sabtu akan menggunakan pesawat narrow body Airbus A320 berkapasitas 180 orang.
Lama penerbangan sekitar 12 jam dengan Airbus A-320 yang terbang dari Surabaya ke Jeddah. Menurutnya, dengan keterbatasan jarak tempuh lima hingga enam jam, maka pesawat akan singgah di Medan dan Mumbai.
"Untuk rute Surabaya-Jeddah, Citilink menargetkan bisa sedikitnya 26.250 penumpang pada enam bulan pertama.
Kami melihat perkembangan ekonomi di Jatim cukup tinggi, disamping itu permintaan penerbangan untuk umroh juga cukup tinggi di Jatim. Karenanya kami memutuskan membuka penerbangan umroh dari Surabaya," katanya kepada pers di Surabaya, Selasa.
Citilink, adalah anak perusahaan dari maskapai Garuda Indonesia, yang saat ini telah melayani rute penerbangan Jakarta-Jeddah tiga kali dalam sepekan.
Jakarta (B2B) - Citilink as Indonesian low-cost carrier plans to introduce a Surabaya-Jedda flight route via Medan in North Sumatra and Mumbai in India from March 8. This plan is part of efforts to allow Muslims to travel to perform umroh, also known as the minor pilgrimage.
Vice President for Corporate Communications of Citilink Benny Butarbutar said on Tuesday, February 24, that Citilink would fly the route thrice a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, using an Airbus A-320 with a seating capacity of 180 passengers. The plane will depart at 9.00 p.m. from Juanda Airport.
It takes nearly 12 hours for an A-320 airplane to fly from Surabaya to Jedda. He said that as A-320 planes had a travel limit of five to six hours, they had to include a stopover in Medan and Mumbai.
"We have set ourselves the target of flying at least 26,250 passengers from Surabaya to the holy land for umroh in the first semester of the year. We believe we can achieve the target as the economy of East Java grew by 5.86 percent above the national average," he noted.
Citilink, a subsidiary of national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, currently flies the Jakarta-Jedda route for umroh pilgrims thrice a week.
