Garuda gets certified to carry coronavirus vaccines in Indonesia

PT Garuda Indonesia has been certified to transport coronavirus vaccines in Indonesia, the site of Southeast Asia’s largest outbreak.

The certification, based on criteria set by the World Health Organization, was given by state-owned supervisory company Sucofindo last month, the airline said in an emailed statement.

The flag carrier has sought alternative sources of revenue to weather the drop in passenger traffic, adding routes to transport fresh tuna to Tokyo and other commodities to Singapore. It will strengthen its cargo infrastructure to be ready for Indonesia’s vaccine roll-out, Garuda said in the statement.

Indonesia’s government is putting together a roadmap to distribute the shots to its 270 million population spread across the world’s largest archipelago. With more than 410,000 confirmed virus cases so far, the biggest in Southeast Asia, businesses and consumers are holding back from spending and investments.

President Joko Widodo is banking on vaccines to allow economic activity to resume and rebound from what’s set to be the country’s first annual contraction in two decades. The government plans to provide free shots for as many as 120 million people, setting aside the equivalent of 0.5% to 1% of its gross domestic product through 2022 to fund it, according to Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.