This Eid Indonesian Navy offers free home coming with its aircraft

Jakarta, The Gulf Observer: This Eid, the Indonesian Naval Aviation Center provides free homecoming flights using a fleet of military aircraft.

There was no special preparation for Arrafi to board the military airplane. She came to know about the free homecoming flight from his father and also through pamphlets circulating at the start of Ramadan.

Arrafi then tried to register herself as one of the participants. Luckily, she was able to go to her hometown and meet her family in Tanjung Pinang.

For her, taking a flight on a military plane is a matter of special pride because not all civilians can get the opportunity. Moreover, she is able to meet her family on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr.

“It is nice to be able to celebrate Eid with my family,” she noted.

For a student living apart from her parents, she said that the free homecoming program is immensely helpful. She hoped that in future, a similar program will be implemented to facilitate more people to go home aboard military aircraft.

The Indonesian Navy Aviation Center (Puspenerbal) is conducting a free homecoming program by using the Casa NC-212 airplane. The program demonstrates the government’s role in addressing the public’s problems during Eid and also helps to reduce the density of vehicles on land routes.

Flight routes in this program are divided into two regions, i.e., west and east. The west flight routes are from Surabaya – Semarang – Jakarta and from Tanjung Pinang – Palembang – Jakarta, while the east route is Surabaya – Mataram – Kupang and Surabaya – Balikpapan – Manado and vice versa.

Passengers from Surabaya bound for Tanjung Pinang will transit at the Pondok Cabe Airport, Jakarta, to change planes. The same goes for the other way around. Passengers from Tanjung Pinang bound for Surabaya will transit at Pondok Cabe and then continue from Pondok Cabe to Surabaya.

Deputy Commander of Puspenerbal, First Admiral Bayu Alisyahbana, emphasized that his side supports the government’s efforts through concrete steps to accommodate the public.

He noted that each aircraft has a total of five crew members involved. In one flight, there will be 15 passengers and five crew members, with the total people on board reaching 20.

This service can be enjoyed by the public for free. They only need to register and follow the steps written in the brochure.

In a day, there are at least two flights to accommodate homecoming travellers with different routes.

This service can help people spend Eid in their hometown. Apart from being free, the passengers do not have to reel from traffic jams on the streets. This step can also reduce the density of vehicles on land routes.