Indonesian Travel Agent to Return 174 Tourists from China

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - PT Cahaya Matahari Rembulan, an Indonesian travel agent, will send 174 Chinese tourists currently visiting Solo since January 23, Central Java, back home amid the coronavirus outbreak originating from Wuhan, a city in China. "At present, there are 174 Chinese tourists in Solo. We will send them back home on Wednesday (January 29)," Pupun Pantiana Gunmantono, director of PT Cahaya Matahari Rembulan, said here Tuesday.

"After their return, we will halt the tour packages indefinitely because we cannot take the risk," he said.

Initially, the travel agent planned to bring 174 Chinese tourists from Kunming on January 30, but the plan was canceled and the company refunded the tourists' money because the flights serving Solo-Kunming and Kunming-Solo were stopped after the last flight on January 23, 2020.

PT Cahaya Matahari Rembulan has been frequently taking Chinese tourists from Kunming to Solo by a chartered flight by Citiling once a week.

PT Angkasa Pura, operator of the Adi Soemarmo international airport in Solo, confirmed the temporary closure of flights from and to China.

"There are no more passengers from there (China) for now. There will be one last flight taking back Chinese passengers here," Abdullah Usman, general manager of PT Angkasa Pura office in Adi Soemarmo Airport, said.

The flights to and from China will be resumed when the coronavirus outbreak ends, he said.

"The distance between Kunming and Wuhan is a lot, but we will halt the flights, anyway," he added.

ANTARA