MindaNews / 11 April – Indonesian carrier TransNusa Air has expressed interest to service the possible revival of the Davao-Manado direct flight, which is being worked out to strengthen economic and tourism ties between Mindanao and North Sulawesi under the BIMP-EAGA framework, an official said.
Romeo Montenegro, assistant secretary at the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), said that a Mindanao delegation and TransNusa Air executives met for advanced talks during a trade mission to North Sulawesi, Indonesia from April 6 to 10.
He noted the airline expressed readiness to resume operations pending a market viability study and regulatory requirements.
“We will be providing further data to TransNusa, along with other requisites that need to be worked out with our civil aviation authorities and national government agencies to ensure the connectivity will be viable and sustainable,” Montenegro said in a statement on Friday.
MinDA is set to coordinate with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines and the Civil Aeronautics Board for the application of BIMP-EAGA support policies, while determining passenger demand, cargo volume, and operational support needed to sustain the direct flight, he added.
Talks for TransNusa Air to service the Davao-Manado direct flight began in August 2024 with MinDA officials meeting with Dato Bernard Francis, CEO of TransNusa Aviation Group, at its headquarters in Jakarta. The meeting was facilitated by the Indonesian Consulate General in Davao.
Following their recent meeting in Manado, Montenegro said both sides are taking lessons from previous engagements to ensure long-term success.
“This time around, we are making sure that the preliminaries and preparations are worked out so that once operationalization is laid down, all bases are covered and the initiative will be sustained,” he said.
The Davao-Manado air route was first served in 2007 by Indonesian airline Sriwijaya Air, followed by Wings Air the next year. They stopped servicing the route due to low passenger and cargo volume. In 2014, Sriwijaya Air revived the route with a chartered flight but was not sustained due to the same reason.
The direct flight from Davao to Manado offered a significantly shorter route for travelers, just a little over an hour, compared to the costly and time-consuming Davao-Manila-Jakarta-Manado route.
Montenegro said that tourism cooperation was also strengthened, with both sides agreeing to develop cross-border tour packages to boost travel and support the proposed reopening of the Davao–Manado air route.
“We now see stronger private sector interest and expanded economic activity on both sides, which provides the commercial viability needed for this connectivity project to move forward,” he said.
Tanya Rabat-Tan, Department of Tourism XI regional director, said they strongly support the revival of the Davao-Manado air route.
She said the Davao region’s tourism magnet includes education, medical and wellness, dive exchange and adventure tourism, among others.
Established in 1994, BIMP-EAGA stands for Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines – East ASEAN Growth Area.
The sub-economic grouping seeks to accelerate the growth of trade, investment, and tourism in less developed areas of the participating member countries.
For the Philippines, the focus areas under BIMP-EAGA are the entire Mindanao and Palawan in Luzon. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
