REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Director of Air Transport of Transportation Ministry, Maryati Karma, has said the arrival of the Saudi Arabia King Salman bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud to Indonesia to strengthen unlimited plan flights between Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.

Maryati explained, the agreement between the two countries related to direct flights or direct flights from several cities in Indonesia have been agreed since January 27, 2017. However, with the arrival of the King Salman increasingly facilitate the cooperation.

Maryati added, in Indonesia as many as five cities was selected to get a direct flight to Saudi Arabia without any flight restrictions. The cities namely Medan, Makassar, Surabaya, Denpasar, and Cengkareng. If the original of the five international airports of these cities only 35 times a week, but currently unlimited or add flight schedule according to the needs of society and setting the schedule of the airline.

"So we can have unlimited direct flights. Anytime we will sign the MoU to there. The direct flight also would save money because the pilgrims no longer have to transit in Cengkareng," Mariyati said at the Ministry of Transportation, Jakarta, Wednesday (March 8).

While from the Saudi Arabia, four cities will implement system of direct flight to Indonesia such as Jeddah, Madinah, Damam, and Riyadh.

Mariyati said this cooperation would increases umrah quota from Indonesia to Saudi Arabia. Maryati said, if previously umrah was limited due to flight slots, but in the future, the frequency of umrah travel can be increased and the cost can be suppressed. ''So umrah fees can be cheaper than before," Maryati said.

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