UAE’s Etihad Airways is set to start daily flights from Jakarta to Abu Dhabi in August this year. The plan is part of the carrier’s move to tap the growing market from Indonesia to the Middle East and vice versa.

Ario Pratomo, managing director of PT Unique Cargonize, Etihad’s GSSA Cargo for Indonesia, said the additional flight will also increase the volume of airfreight from Indonesia to the Middle East and Europe.

“With additional flights from currently six times to seven times a week, the growth of payload from Indonesia is expected to increase by 10 percent,” Pratomo said.

In the first three months of operations last year with an A330-200, the carrier was able to carry 300 tonnes per month. But with the introduction of the B777-300 on the route, the volume of shipments increased significantly to 395 tonnes a month.

In its first year of operations to Indonesia, Etihad has carried 4,740 tonnes of freight from Jakarta to the Middle East.

According to Pratomo, Etihad mostly carries garments (50 percent of the total tonnage), fruits, electronics, shoes, fresh fish and tuna. – Siktus Harson