Indon airliner revives Manado-Davao link

ADVANCES in air connectivity and trade between the neighboring cities of Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-the Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-Eaga) are showing signs of resurgence as Wings Air Indonesia re-launched its chartered flight serving the Manado-Davao-Manado route.

Wings Air, a subsidiary of Indonesia's largest privately run airline Lion Air, started reviving the Manado-Davao flight last month using a 70-seater twin-engine aircraft. The airline has served the same route back in 2008.

“This progress will greatly benefit our traders and businessmen who have major transactions in either Manado or Davao, and other nearby cities,” said Shelly Sondakh of the BIMP-Eaga Secretariat in Manado.

These two proximate Eaga areas situated along the southern part of Mindanao and North Sulawesi, Indonesia have for years established twinning ties through a sister-city relationship that has helped enhance the ongoing free exchange of tourism, socio-cultural and economic benefits in both cities.

CAGAYAN DE ORO. Wings Air Indonesia launches its Manado-Davao-Manado charter flights recently using a 70-seater twin-engine regional airliner in a bid to revive trade and tourism links between the two key cities in the East Asean Growth Area. (Contributed photo)

Prior to Wings Air’s launching, passengers bound for Manado would need to take the circuitous and subsequently costly Davao-Manila-Jakarta-Manado route.

“Connectivity initiatives like this truly present a cheaper and faster movement of goods and travelers. We hope to see more of these efforts in the coming months,” said Luwalhati Antonino, Mindanao Development Authority (Minda) chairperson and Philippine signing minister for BIMP-Eaga.

Minda, being the Philippine National Secretariat for BIMP-Eaga and DOT-Northern Mindanao have committed to work closely with the Manado transport and tourist ministries for the marketing promotions of the said route to ensure its sustainability.

BIMP-Eaga is an economic cooperation formally created in 1994 covering the entire Brunei Darussalam; 10 provinces in the Indonesian islands of Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku and Irian Jaya; Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan in Malaysia; and Mindanao and Palawan in the Philippines. (PR)