Minister Of Transportation Budi: International Route Passenger Departure Traffic Reaches 4,000 People Per Day At Soekarno-Hatta Airport

Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi. (Photo: Doc. Kemenhub)

JAKARTA - The Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi revealed that there was an increase in traffic departing passengers from international routes at Soekarno-Hatta Airport. Budi said as many as 4,000 Indonesians travel abroad per day.

"Now there is a tendency for people to go abroad. At Soetta Airport, 4,000 people go abroad every day," he said in a virtual press conference 'Submission of Information on Transportation Sector Performance in 2021 and Outlook for 2022', Tuesday, December 21.

Budi assessed that the public's interest in flying abroad was very worrying, amid the high spike in cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in various parts of the world. Moreover, the current variant of the virus has been detected in 89 countries.

If within a few days there is an increase in transmission of the new variant of Omicron in various countries, Budi said, the government in this case the Ministry of Transportation will advise the public to refrain from traveling abroad.

"It is worrying, we will see in the last few days if there is an increase in Omicron transmission. We suggest not to go abroad," he said.

According to Budi, there are still many interesting local tourist attractions from Sabang to Merauke that can be visited by the public. Budi said that many foreign products are also sold in various domestic shopping centers.

"If there is a visa, we suggest shopping here (domestic) only. You don't have to go outside," he said.

As previously reported, the government is considering extending the quarantine period for foreign travelers to 14 days from 10 days. However, this consideration is based on the results of monitoring the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in the country and a number of other countries.

"We will see developments in the past week. If it increases (cases of COVID-19 Varian Omicron, ed) then on 1 (January 2022, ed) it is possible that we will carry out an additional 14-day quarantine," said Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi in an online press conference, Tuesday, December 21.

Budi also asked the public not to travel abroad if it was not important during the spread of the Omicron variant.

"We do not recommend going abroad considering that Omicron is increasing in distribution. Even in Indonesia, there are some people who have been affected. In addition, in recent days there has been an increase in the number of people going abroad," he continued.