DHL announced that it is the first express company to start a direct flight from Hong Kong to Surabaya – with four flights a week – to facilitate what it says are growing volumes of import cargo toEast Java.

Import volumes have grown 7.84 per cent in October this year compared to September according to the latest data of the Central Bureau of Statistics of East Java, amounting to US$970 million.

DHL also recorded an 18 per cent growth in shipment volumes on the Hong Kong – Surabaya route between July and November 2009. Major shipments were from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. The direct flight from Hong Kong International Airport to Djuanda Airport in Surabaya cuts up to 24 hours from the previous routing via Jakarta and domestic transportation from Jakarta to Surabaya, the company said.

“Hong Kong – Surabaya is an important trade lane for DHL because China is the largest supplier of non-oil and gas products to East Java, with the value amounting to US$202.6 million in October 2009.

Surabaya is a gateway to the resourcerich provinces of eastern Indonesia and also a major manufacturing hub in its own right and an active importer of bicycle parts, computer parts, electronic materials, garment, leather, papers, spare-parts, textiles, and other industrial supplies.