Garuda Indonesia is Indonesia's national airline. Main airport is Soekarno - Hatto International, a couple of miles from Jakarta. The firm is named after a mytical bird that was called Garuda. The bird is used in the coat of arms of Indonesia as well. The airline is completely government-property and has many destinations in Asia, the Middle-East and Australia. A while ago, Garuda had flights in the EU, but since January 2008 the Union bans the airline.

Garuda Indonesia was founded in the end of the 1940s, during the war with the Dutch. The Indonesians aimed at independence. In that time, Garuda carried out special transports with a DC-3. In the sixties the company started to grow rapidly, helped by the government of Burma.

The last couple of years the airline has had a difficult time. In 1998, there was an economical crisis in East-Asia, that caused Garuda big losses. The attacks on September 11 (2001), the attacks on Bali (2002), the SARS-virus (2003) and the tsunami on the 26th of December 2004 also played a role in decreasing the number of flights. But Garuda Indoensia recovered itself time and time again.

At present, a new airport is being built: Kuala Namun International Airport. When everything goes according to plan, the aircraft will be opened in 2009. Garuda will grow some more and expand their number of destinations. It's possible that the European Union will reconsider their decision to ban Garuda from Europe. Experts have been send to Indonesia to investigate the matter.