SINGAPORE (Nov 9): Singapore Airlines has delayed the launch of a new Singapore-Jakarta-Sydney route.

This comes after SIA was being informed by Indonesian civil aviation authorities that due to runway maintenance at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, they were unable to approve the new route.

SIA had announced plans in Sept to launch the new three-times weekly flights, after securing written approval from the Indonesian civil aviation authorities, the required airport slots, as well as the “fifth freedom” rights to allow airlines to pick up passengers from another country. The carrier had hoped to tap into the Indonesia and Australia market with the new route.

The runway maintenance will also affect other airlines such as Garuda Indonesia, as the runway is unable to let full-loaded big jets take-off.

SIA will progressively contact customers with bookings on this route and help put them on other flights, says the company in a statement.

In response to media queries, Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said it was aware of the delayed launch of SIA’s new route.

“We hope the Indonesian civil aviation authorities can give approval for this new service as soon as possible so that it can be launched,” says the regulator in a statement.

SIA shares are down 12 cents at S$9.82 as of 3.05pm.