Public Complaints About Airplane Tariffs On The Rembele Route, Ministry Of Transportation: Charter, Not Regular

The Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) through the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (Ditjen Hubud) has opened its voice regarding the news of the high flight rate on the Kualanamu Rembele-Kualanamu Airport route.

The high flight rate for this route is in the spotlight in the midst of floods and landslides that occur in the Aceh region.

Head of the Medan Regional II Airport Authority, Asri Santosa, confirmed that currently there are no regular flights serving the Kualanamu-Rembele PP route.

"The flight that operates is a pioneer flight served by Susi Air with a frequency of one flight per week every Thursday," he said in an official statement, Tuesday, December 9.

Asri said the disaster emergency conditions in the Aceh Province caused an increase in the community's need for air transportation services due to access to other modes of transportation being affected by disasters.

"Many residents from affected areas need access out of the disaster area, especially to Kualanamu Airport, this has resulted in an increase in the number of people coming to Rembele Airport to get flight services," said Asri.

From the results of the verification of officers in the field, continued Asri, it was found that there were initiatives of individuals who coordinated other prospective passengers to make charter flights on the intended route.

For charter flights, the entire process of booking, payment, and flight arrangements is an agreement between passengers and airlines or aircraft providers (not being sold in retail). The airport is not involved and does not have the authority to sell tickets or the commercial process of the flight," said Asri.

Meanwhile, the Director General of Civil Aviation, Lukman F. Laisa, ensured that the airline did not sell regular tickets outside of scheduled pioneering flights at Rembele Airport.

"All flights outside the regular schedule are an initiative of prospective passengers who independently coordinate to carry out aircraft charters with the aim of meeting their urgent needs in emergency situations," said Lukman.

As a responsive step, Lukman appealed to all Commercial Air Transport Business Entities to be able to increase service capacity. This can be done through the opening of new routes and the addition of flight frequency on a number of important routes in West Sumatra, North Sumatra, and Aceh.

"In particular, capacity building in the Aceh region is very much needed on routes to Soekarno-Hatta Airport and Kualanamu Airport, we also encourage airlines to keep tariffs reasonable in accordance with applicable regulations, and if it is possible to provide special tariffs or humanitarian discounts during the disaster recovery period," he said.

Lukman also said that his party opened space for airlines to submit responses and submissions for additional flight capacity according to regulations, while still considering the readiness of available fleets and human resources.

"The Directorate General of Hubud is committed to ensuring smooth mobility of the community and distribution of aid during the emergency response period, and continuing to coordinate with all stakeholders for the smooth running of flight operations in affected areas," he said.