Estimates Traffic To Increase 35 Percent During Eid 2022, Garuda Indonesia Group Prepares More Than 855 Thousand Flight Seats

Garuda Indonesia aircraft. (Irfan Meidianto/VOI)

JAKARTA - Garuda Indonesia Group through its Garuda Indonesia flight service and its subsidiary, Citilink, has prepared at least 855,119 flight seats for both domestic and international routes during the 2022 peak season of Eid.

Of the 855,119 seats during this period, Garuda Indonesia will provide at least 288,219 seats which will be operated using a number of wide-body aircraft including the A330-300 and A330-200 as well as the narrow body B737-800 NG aircraft.

Meanwhile, Citilink has prepared up to 566,900 seats which will be served using the A320-200 and ATR72-600 fleets.

Optimization of the availability of these seats is carried out through the operation of wide-body aircraft and the addition of frequencies on several routes with high demand during the period from April 25 to May 10, 2022.

President Director of Garuda Indonesia, Irfan Setiaputra, said that optimizing flight capacity during the Lebaran holiday period is a form of Garuda Indonesia's commitment as a national flag carrier to contribute in supporting the smooth mobilization of the community during this year's Lebaran momentum.

"We understand that this Hari Raya holiday has its own meaning in the midst of the enthusiasm of the community, especially for those who have been looking forward to going home to celebrate the victory day with their families back home since two years ago," he said in an official statement, Tuesday, April 19.

Therefore, said Irfan, it is important for Garuda to ensure safe and comfortable flight services for this special moment can be well maintained. Of course, it is also aligned with the consistency of the implementation of health protocols in all operational lines.

Furthermore, Irfan said that the optimization of Garuda Indonesia's flight capacity would be carried out on a number of flight routes with high demand.

Among them are Jakarta-Denpasar, Jakarta-Surabaya, Jakarta-Medan, Jakarta-Jogja, Jakarta-Padang, Jakarta-Pontianak, Jakarta-Solo, Jakarta-Banjarmasin, Jakarta-Semarang and Jakarta-Balikpapan.

"We project that there will be an increase in passenger traffic by 35 percent in the upcoming Lebaran peak season. Of course, the potential for this increase will continue to move dynamically in line with people's demand for returning homecoming trips," he explained.

"We will continue to monitor the situation and developments in the community's flight needs to ensure that flight services can always be met. Furthermore, we are also intensively coordinating with various stakeholders to ensure the smooth flow of homecoming and return flows during the Lebaran period this year," he continued.

In the midst of various relaxations of public mobility policies in this new normal, said Irfan, this year's homecoming momentum can be handled wisely for all people who will carry out homecoming to always consistently apply health protocols in daily activities.