Aceh Government Signs Aircraft Purchase Agreement

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BANDUNG - Acting Governor of Aceh Nova Iriansyah signed an agreement on the procurement of N219 aircraft with PT Dirgantara Indonesia (Persero). In addition to aircraft purchases, the cooperation also includes an agreement on human resource development and air transportation operations in Aceh.

"Procurement of this aircraft is to improve connectivity between regions in Aceh and boost the community's economy and accelerate regional development," Nova Iriansyah said in Bandung, Monday (9/12).

Nova explained that building pioneering flights between regions in Aceh was not easy. "A number of private parties have already tried. But then stopped the operation for economic reasons, "he said.

At present pioneering flights in Aceh that are still running only exist in five airports with limited frequency. So far there are only one to two flights per week.

While the seven airports in the district / city in the westernmost province of Indonesia are in a state of inactivity. According to him, with these conditions made the Aceh Government must intervene to overcome the problems that became one of the priority programs of the local government.

"Connectivity between regions is one of the priority programs that has been launched by the Government of Aceh," Nova said.

The connectivity between regions carried out by the Government of Aceh is not only through air transportation, but also through sea transportation. "The Aceh government has also cooperated with a number of domestic shipping industries to procure ferrous vessels to increase the intensity of inter-island shipping," he said.

Nova hopes that by 2022 the Aceh government will be able to obtain four N219 aircraft. The aircraft will serve as a pioneering inter-island air transportation in Indonesia.

The reason for the Aceh Government's need for the aircraft was because it was to connect the Aceh regions to its vast area. The area of ​​Aceh province reaches 59 thousand square kilometers for land area and 295 thousand square kilometers for sea area.

The coastline length also reaches more than 2,600 kilometers, with a total of around 180 islands. Of all the islands, 44 of them inhabited.

Director of PT Dirgantara Indonesia Elfien Goentoro said the N219 was developed to meet the needs of national air transportation in the pioneer region. The aircraft can be used for various needs such as passenger transportation, freight transportation, and air ambulances.

He explained that the N219 had conducted its first test flight on August 16, 2017. The aircraft is currently undergoing a series of certification tests. The certification process is an important process to guarantee security and safety because it will be used by the general public.

Elfien said that PTDI was committed to completing the certification process so that it could get a certificate from the Ministry of Transportation's Airworthiness and Operations Directorate (DKPPU). "We hope that the N219 aircraft will soon be able to serve the people of Aceh and encourage and increase accessibility and economic growth in the Aceh Province," Elfien said.