Mandala Airlines berths at Changi Airport

Passenger traffic between two countries rose 7.6% or 4.4mln in 2009 from 2008’s 4.1 mln.

Changi Airport Group on Friday welcomes Mandala Airlines into the Changi family of airlines as the Indonesian carrier commences operations at Changi Airport. The privately-owned carrier – Indonesia’s fifth largest by seat capacity – brings to 89 the number of airlines served by Changi. Singapore is Mandala’s first international destination, according to a Changi Airport report.

Mandala will operate 14 weekly flights between Singapore and Jakarta (CGK) and six weekly flights between Singapore and Balikpapan (BPN) at Changi’s Terminal 2. A320 aircraft will be utilised on these routes.

With Mandala’s operations, 16 airlines now operate more than 790 weekly scheduled passenger flights between Singapore and Indonesia, further enriching the options for air travellers.

Passenger traffic between the two countries has grown steadily over the years. In 2009, more than 4.4 million passenger movements were recorded, an increase of 7.6% over 2008’s 4.1 million. For the first five months of 2010, passenger traffic rose 32% compared to the same period last year.