BANGKOK – Garuda has pledged to resume services to Europe despite a current ban on Indonesian aircraft flying into the European Union.
Speaking at Asean Tourism Forum, a Garuda spokesman said the carrier was revamping its long-haul product, especially the business and first-class cabins, prior to re-launching European services.
“It will take another year to perfect the product for Europe and other long-haul markets,” the spokesman said.
“We don’t wish to re-enter the European markets the way to left it in 2004. We’ve got to get it right this time.
“Some corners are still a bit rough but we’re getting closer to the finished product.”
Garuda flew to Rome and Amsterdam until 2005, and is planning to resume services to Amsterdam at the end of this year.
Garuda is asking the Indonesian government to lobby the EU to rescind the ban on Indonesian airlines, which was introduced in June last year amid concerns for the overall safety of 51 carriers from Indonesia.
In June, Garuda will launch operations to India, connecting Medan to Chennai three times a week.
Meanwhile, the latest development following the mysterious death of Indonesian human rights activist Munir Said Thalib has resulted in a 20-year prison sentence for Garuda pilot. Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto.
Munir died in September 2004, while flying from Jakarta to Amsterdam on Garuda.
In a judicial review of the murder case, reported in www.balidiscovery.com, Pollycarpus was found guilty of premeditated murder and falsification of documents.
In an earlier legal proceeding Pollycarpus was sentenced to a 14-year prison sentence, a sentence that was later reduced to only two years for document forgery when the courts ruled his murder conviction was incorrect due to a lack of evidence.
The latest decision reviewed the earlier decisions and considered new evidence submitted by prosecutors in allowing the panel to arrive at their guilty sentence and the substantially stiffer sentence of 20 years.
One of the ruling judges said the motive behind the murder remains unclear, but the suspicion is that Munir was killed for his political activities.
In a related case, Indra Setiawan, the former CEO of Garuda Indonesia, is facing a prison sentence if judges accept demands made by state prosecutors for his supporting role in the death of Munir.
Public prosecutor Didif Farkhan told the court that Setiawan was closely involved in assigning Pollycarpus a place on the fateful flight during which the human rights activist died in 2004.
The trial of the former Garuda CEO continues.
