JAKARTA - INDONESIAN flag carrier Garuda Indonesia will reopen direct flights between Bali and the Australian city of Brisbane from December 13, a report said on Monday.

Garuda would serve the reopened Denpasar-Brisbane route three times a week - Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays - using 300-seat Airbus 330s, Antara news agency quoted a Garuda official in Australia as saying.

The route was closed early last year.

Garuda officials in Indonesia were not available to comment.

Garuda is the only one of Indonesia's 51 commercial and charter airlines which is a member of the International Air Transport Association, which recently declared it fit to fly, according to company executives.

The European Union banned all Indonesian-registered aircraft from flying over its airspace last year due to poor safety standards and a spate of accidents.

A Garuda jet crashed in Central Java in March last year, killing 21 people.

The resort island of Bali is a major destination for Australian tourists seeking a cheap holiday abroad.