Airlines cut Bali flights

By CATHY ARONSON

Airlines are scaling back flights to Bali as bookings to the tourist island fall after the terrorist bombings.

Garuda Indonesia and Qantas will trim services in two weeks after extra flights to evacuate the injured.

Garuda, the only airline to fly directly from New Zealand to Bali, will drop its Wednesday flight, and all other flights will be shared with a Brisbane pick-up, because it is cutting its dedicated flight from Brisbane.

Garuda has also suspended flights between Adelaide and Bali, will cut its Sydney and Melbourne flights from nine to five a week, and daily flights from Perth will drop to five.

Its services from Bali to Frankfurt and London will be dropped and flights to Japan and Korea have been reduced.

Qantas is reducing flights on the Denpasar-Sydney route from four to two a week, and has cancelled the weekly flight from Melbourne.

It will review its other Bali links with Perth and Northern Territory. The airline is diverting its 747 and 767 planes to destinations in Fiji, Singapore and Queensland.

Garuda Indonesia general manager Iriansyah Antemas said the dropped flights were an interim measure.