Indonesian airlines stops operation amid crisis

Special
Report: Global Financial Crisis

JAKARTA, May 5 (Xinhua) -- An Indonesian airlines company stopped operation
following a severe financial problem, the first stoppage in the country amid the
crisis, local media reported Tuesday.

Due to a financial problem, Lintasan Nusantara (Across the Archipelago) has
filed in a notification to stop operation, a report of the Bisnis Indonesia
daily said.

According to the report, Air Transport Director General and the
Transportation Minister Herry Bhakti Gumay said it has received a request to
stop the operation of the company.

He said that Linus officially stopped its operation by April 27, adding
that all of its planes had undergone a periodical checks in a plane maintenance
facility.

He pointed out that with the notification, Linus Airways becomes the first
Indonesian airlines company that have stopped operation in the wake of economic
crisis.

Linus Airways has been in operation for one year using two BAe 146-200,
serving short-haul flights from Java to Sumatra and Kalimantan.

There are 49 airlines operating in Indonesia at the moment, serving the
transportation for the people living in hundreds of islands across the country.