National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia on Friday unveiled an aircraft with a face mask livery stretching across its nose, as the country works to stem the spread of the coronavirus that has claimed more lives than anywhere else in Southeast Asia.

The Airbus A330-900 Neo took off Friday morning from Jakarta's s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, bound for the North Sumatra provincial capital of Medan.

The blue mask has its straps heading back to the aircraft's passenger windows painted until the middle of the plane, as if they are blown by the wind. The phrase "Ayo Pakai Masker" (Let's Wear Masks) is written underneath the airline's name.

Revealing the special livery on its social media, Garuda Indonesia said its launching is a part of the airline's support for the government's program to educate the public to wear masks.

"This is in line with our commitment and seriousness to prioritize the aspects of safety and comfort for passengers," Irfan Setiaputra, president of PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. said.

The plane with special mask livery will also fly to Tokyo next Wednesday.

There will be four other Airbus A330-900 Neo of the airline that will use mask liveries this month for which a competition has been opened to the public to design the masks.

According to a recent survey by Statistics Indonesia, 91.98 percent of Indonesians have been wearing masks, but only 75.38 percent wash their hands regularly and 73.54 percent maintain physical distancing.

As of Friday, Indonesia had recorded 295,499 cases of COVID-19, second only to the Philippines in Southeast Asia, with 10,972 fatalities, the highest number in the region.

==Kyodo

© Kyodo News International, Inc., source Newswire