Indonesia's national carrier Garuda announced yesterday it will cut flights to countries around the world while inbound tourism dries up in the wake of the Bali bomb attack earlier this month.
Garuda Indonesia said it would reduce flights to Australia, the UK, Japan and South Korea, and cease flights to the cities of Frankfurt in Germany, Fukuoka in Japan and Adelaide in Australia. The changes will begin Nov. 15.
"We emphasize that the rationalization is an interim measure that will be under constant review," said Iriansyah Antemas, Garuda Indonesia's general manager in eastern Australia.
Nearly 200 people died in the Oct. 12 attack on a nightclub on the Indonesian island of Bali that was packed with foreign tourists from 15 different countries, mostly Australia, Britain, Sweden, the US and Germany.
Australia has accounted for the largest proportion of casualties from all countries including Indonesia with almost 90 of its citizens believed dead or missing.
Before the bombings, Australians made up the majority of tourists heading to Bali.
Foreign ministries around the world are now warning their citizens to stay away from Indonesia. Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade last week warned its nationals to defer all travel to Bali and put off non-essential travel to other parts of Indonesia.
Antemas said Garuda hopes soon to see an easing of security concerns and the eventual lifting of travel warnings by Western governments.
"We will be working vigorously over coming months to reconstruct Bali and Indonesia as major destinations, which without doubt they will become again, given the profound links forged by visitors and the travel industry over more than 20 years," he said.
Reports in Australia yesterday suggested Bali's hotel occupancy rates had tumbled to just 5 percent this week. Before the attacks they had enjoyed up to 70 percent occupancy.
UPDATED (3:40pm): A suspected gas explosion at a shopping mall in Taichung this morning has killed four people and injured 20 others, as emergency responders continue to investigate. The explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Situn District (西屯) at 11:33am. One person was declared dead at the scene, while three people were declared deceased later after receiving emergency treatment. Another 20 people sustained major or minor injuries. The Taichung Fire Bureau said it received a report of the explosion at 11:33am and sent rescuers to respond. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, it said. The National Fire
ACCOUNTABILITY: The incident, which occured at a Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store in Taichung, was allegedly caused by a gas explosion on the 12th floor Shin Kong Group (新光集團) president Richard Wu (吳昕陽) yesterday said the company would take responsibility for an apparent gas explosion that resulted in four deaths and 26 injuries at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang Store in Taichung yesterday. The Taichung Fire Bureau at 11:33am yesterday received a report saying that people were injured after an explosion at the department store on Section 3 of Taiwan Boulevard in Taichung’s Situn District (西屯). It sent 56 ambulances and 136 paramedics to the site, with the people injured sent to Cheng Ching Hospital’s Chung Kang Branch, Wuri Lin Shin Hospital, Taichung Veterans General Hospital or Chung
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘LAWFUL USE’: The last time a US warship transited the Taiwan Strait was on Oct. 20 last year, and this week’s transit is the first of US President Donald Trump’s second term Two US military vessels transited the Taiwan Strait from Sunday through early yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement, the first such mission since US President Donald Trump took office last month. The two vessels sailed south through the Strait, the ministry said, adding that it closely monitored nearby airspace and waters at the time and observed nothing unusual. The ministry did not name the two vessels, but the US Navy identified them as the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and the Pathfinder-class survey ship USNS Bowditch. The ships carried out a north-to-south transit from