Singapore
SINGAPORE — Two weeks before the inaugural flights were set to take off, Singapore Airlines (SIA) announced on Wednesday that it has been forced to delay its thrice-weekly flights linking Singapore, Jakarta and Sydney.
Singapore Airlines planes parked at Changi international airport. Photo: AFP
SINGAPORE — Two weeks before the inaugural flights were set to take off, Singapore Airlines (SIA) announced on Wednesday that it has been forced to delay its thrice-weekly flights linking Singapore, Jakarta and Sydney.
Despite having received written approvals and secured the necessary airport slots for the Nov 23 launch, SIA said it has been informed by the Indonesian civil aviation authorities “that they are now unable to approve the flights due to runway maintenance works at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International airport, which also affect other airlines”.
The airport is managed by Indonesia state-owned company Angkasa Pura.
The Indonesian authorities did not reply to TODAY’s queries by press time, including which other carriers are affected and when the maintenance works would be completed.
SIA said it would contact the affected customers and help put them on other flights. “The airline apologises for the inconvenience caused to our customers,” SIA said in a statement.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said it was aware of the development. “We understand that SIA had earlier received approval from the Indonesian civil aviation authorities but the authorities have now indicated that SIA cannot proceed with the service … We hope the Indonesian civil aviation authorities can give approval to this new service as soon as possible so that it can be launched,” it said.
On Sept 28, SIA announced it would be injecting eight new weekly flights between Singapore and Jakarta, as well as launch a new route to link Jakarta with Sydney, subject to regulatory approval.
The Jakarta-Sydney-Singapore service would have been operated with Boeing 777 aircraft.
Separately, SIA said in response to TODAY’s queries that it decided last month not to launch the eight additional flights, due to “operational reasons”. The airline did not elaborate on these.
Analysts played down the impact of the delay on customers in Singapore, given the availability of other direct flight options.
Nevertheless, the delay of the service means that only two carriers, Qantas and Garuda, operate direct flights between Sydney and Jakarta.
Based on the reason given by the Indonesian authorities, the analysts said the routes can only be delayed temporarily, given the air service agreements that are in place between Singapore, Indonesia and Australia.
Aviation consultant Prithpal Singh said: “Based on the traffic rights available under the (agreements) between the countries, SIA will eventually be allowed to operate on this route. It can only be barred to operate on a temporary basis on technical grounds such as airport maintenance, congestion or slot availability.”
Mr K Ajith, director of Asia Transport Research at UOB Kay Hian, said: “I am not sure if the other airlines are affected by the so-called airport maintenance. But if they have been given access, then it shouldn’t be too long before they receive clearance.”
Analysts felt the impact is negligible on SIA’s bottom line. Mr Greg Waldron, Asia managing editor at Flightglobal, said: “With only three frequencies a week, this route is not a huge issue for SIA’s network to either city, as it has plenty of direct services to both.”
Australia and Indonesia are two of SIA’s largest international markets. According to the Centre for Aviation, Australia and Indonesia together account for over 25 per cent of SIA’s weekly seat capacity.
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