State-owned oil and gas holding company Pertamina plans to buy Airbus A400 aircraft to be operated by PT Pelita Air Service (PAS), an airline owned by Pertamina and PT Pertamina Pedeve Indonesia, an official has said.

State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Ministry undersecretary for financial, survey and consulting services Gatot Trihargo did not reveal details on the plan, such as the number of aircraft to be purchased.

The official said Indonesia had used the Airbus A400 for natural disaster mitigation in the past.

“The rescue mission for the Palu earthquake could be implemented quickly because the Airbus A400 could land on the short runway yet carry a larger number of passengers than Hercules planes,” Gatot said recently, as quoted by kontan.co.id.

With the new planes, PAS could transport cargo to Papua as well as other remote regions, the official noted, adding that the plane was expected to arrive this year or next year.

He said PAS was expected to join a state-owned aviation holding company that was being prepared by the SOE Ministry.

The government is likely to appoint PT Survei Udara Penas to head the holding company, which is expected to also include flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia and airport operators PT Angkasa Pura I (AP I) and PT Angkasa Pura II (AP II).

“Garuda as an open company cannot easily become the leader of the holding company, while Penas is a small company but booked Rp 3 billion (US$213,041) last year. It will be easier [for that firm] to become [the] leading company,” he added. (bbn)