Russian carriers Aeroflot and Rossiya Airlines officially launched their Moscow-Denpasar route on Monday under a codeshare agreement.
The SU-6295 flight arrived safely at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport on Monday at 8:20 a.m. local time after departing from Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow, Russia, on Sunday at 3:05 p.m., covering a distance of 10,600 kilometers.
The direct maiden flight using Boeing 777-300ER aircraft carries 297 passengers.
A welcoming ceremony was held for the flight, where the passengers received flower garlands and were entertained with Sekar Jepun dance performance.
Among the attendees were the Indonesian Ambassador to Russia and the Republic of Belarus M. Wahid Supriyadi, the Tourism Ministry’s head of marketing division area IV Agus Setiawan, the head of the political section of the Embassy of the Russian Federation to Indonesia Andrey Kuznetsov and president director of GSA of Aeroflot Indonesia, Agustinus Kasjaya Pake Seko.
“Today is one of the historical days in the relations of the two countries. Thirty years ago there was a direct charter flight service [between Russia and Indonesia]. Hopefully this direct flight service will benefit many, especially tourists,” said Wahid in in a statement as quoted by Tribun Bali.
He added that last year the number of Russian tourists to Indonesia increased by 37 percent to 110,000 people. “With this direct flight service, we are targeting to have 35,000 tourists carried each year by Rossiya, increasing the total number of tourists to 145,000.”
Source of www.thejakartapost.com
