TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesia National Air Carriers Association (INACA) said that airlines may close some of their international routes after 59 countries have banned the visits of Indonesian citizens (WNI).

"The impact is that Indonesian citizens are not allowed to fly into these countries. It is possible that domestic airlines will close their international flights, ”said INACA Secretary General Bayu Sutanto when contacted on Wednesday, September 9, 2020.

The restrictions on Indonesian citizens' visits are related to the high number of positive corona cases in the country. As of Tuesday, September 8, 2020, the number of Covid-19 cases in Indonesia has exceeded 200 thousand. The number of cases increased by 3,046 cases from the previous day, bringing the total to 200,035 cases.

As written by the 7 September 2020 edition of the Tempo Magazine, one of the countries that limits visits from Indonesia to its country is Malaysia. The ban was conveyed by the Minister of Defense of Malaysia Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Tuesday, September 1, 2020 and takes effect from September 7, 2020.

Bayu said his association had not yet received the latest reports regarding whether or not the airlines had reduced or temporarily stopped their routes to 59 countries. However, he believes the policies of several countries have an effect on industry.

President Director of PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. Irfaniaputra explained that the airline currently provides international flights to several countries at least once. These flights are primarily to serve the interests of citizens who wish to return home or have urgent interests.

"We make sure to keep flying because there are many Indonesian citizens in the country concerned and they want to go home," said Irfan.