On Monday the organisers of Deep Indonesia announced that floods in Jakarta had caused the postponement of the event until some time in April. The MMTA had been asked by the Head of Tourism in Mentawai to provide material for the event and some members had already booked rooms.
On Wednesday the 7th SMAC airlines flew a demonstration flight to Rokot airport in the Mentawais. Local travel agents were invited and the flight ran smoothly. SMAC use a CASA 212 200 configured to seat 18 to leave room for surfboards. Prices and schedules will be announced Friday according to a company representative. The pilot reported that the Rokot runway was almost ready for regular service citing the need to clear some trees on the approach as his only concern. The work should take about a week.
Susi Air have so far not confirmed plans to support a Bray owned company named 'Mentawai Air' that proposes to use Susi's new Cessna Caravan aircraft for the Padang Rokot service. The MMTA have requested clarification. There was wide support for the Susi Air backed operation because the aircraft are new, servicing is done in Singapore and pilots are Canadian.
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