Sunday, August 25, 2024 Indonesian airline TransNusa Aviation Group is showing interest in launching direct flights between Manado, Indonesia, and Mindanao to enhance trade, investment, and tourism opportunities between the two regions, according to an official from the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA). MinDA Assistant Secretary Romeo Montenegro informed MindaNews about his meeting with Dato Bernard Francis, the CEO of TransNusa, at the airline’s Jakarta office. This discussion took place during the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Special Senior Officials Meeting, held in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank on August 20.
“The meeting with TransNusa was also a pitch for Mindanao, (where we) presented trade, investment and tourism opportunities, particularly highlighting Davao,” he said. He said that MinDA presented the “passenger statistics” of the previous flights between the two cities and incentives for airlines under the BIMP-EAGA, particularly the extended travel tax exemption. BIMP-EAGA, a 30-year-old sub-regional economic cooperation initiative, aims to stimulate economic growth in the less-developed sub-economies of its member countries.
Montenegro noted that Manado serves as a hub for the COMAC ARJ21 jet aircraft, which features a specialized interior with 95 seats. Montenegro said the airline will review the data before it will make a decision but noted that if the plan pushes through, Tran.