Indonesia’s Mandala Airlines Returns to the Skies

Indonesian budget carrier Mandala Airlines, grounded in January 2011,
finally flies again on Thursday. (JG Photo/File)

Indonesian budget carrier Mandala Airlines, grounded last year due to enormous debt, finally resumed operations on Thursday with a flight from Jakarta to Medan.

Mandala flies out of Terminal 3 at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, west of Jakarta.

Mandala spokesman Astriana M. Ekasari said in Jakarta on Thursday, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com, that the first international flight would be on April 20, serving the Singapore-Medan route, and the first Jakarta-Kuala Lumpur flight would be on May 4.

Mandala was grounded on Jan. 13, 2011, due to its enormous debt. Mandala said it owed creditors Rp 800 billion ($87 million), citing the high cost of leasing aircraft among the reasons for its huge debt.

The carrier was cleared to fly again by the Indonesian authorities in February after completing its restructuring process.

Singapore’s budget carrier Tiger Airways now owns 33 percent of Mandala, while Indonesian investment company Saratoga Group holds a majority 51.3 percent stake and the remaining 15.7 percent is owned by Mandala’s previous shareholders and creditors.

Mandala was founded in 1969 and owned by the Indonesian military until 2006 when private investors took over. The airline said it will adopt Tiger Airways’ low-cost carrier model and will use new Airbus A320 aircrafts in its fleet.