Airplane Passenger Traffic Projected To Reach 605 Thousand People Per Day During Christmas And New Year

Angkasa Pura Indonesia Press Conference On Nataru (Photo: Mery Handayani/VOI)

TANGERANG - PT Angkasa Pura Indonesia (InJourney Airports) projects that aircraft passenger traffic will reach 605,000 people per day during the Christmas 2024 and New Year 2025 (Nataru) periods.

InJourney Airports itself has opened an effective Christmas and New Year's Eve Command Post starting today, Wednesday, December 18, 2024 to Wednesday, January 15, 2025.

Director of Operations for Angkasa Pura Indonesia Wendo Asrul Rose estimates that during that period, the highest traffic for departures for holidays and religious activities related to Christmas Day will occur on December 20.

Furthermore, Wendo said that there are two types of trips that people travel during the Christmas and New Year periods, namely the New Year holidays and celebrating Christmas in their hometowns.

"So, the peak hours nodes, this peak day at Christmas 2024 are 605,000 passengers per day. This is at all airports we serve," he said at a press conference at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, Banten, written Wednesday, December 18.

Meanwhile, continued Wendo, for the return flow after the New Year 2025, it is estimated that it will start January 4. Where the projected traffic will reach 502,000 passengers per day.

Furthermore, Wendo said airports that were expected to experience a surge in passenger traffic during the Nataru period, namely Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport, and Juanda Airport, and Sultan Hasanuddin Airport.

In addition, said Wendo, the estimated increase in passenger traffic also occurred in New Yogyakarta International Airport (NYIA), Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Sepinggan Airport, Balikpapan, and Manado's Sam Ratulangi Airport.

"There are two airports, not a big airport but the traffic is quite good here related to Christmas and New Year, it's Kupang and Ambon," said Wendo.

Therefore, said Wendo, as an effort to accommodate passenger needs, Angkasa Pura Indonesia will alert 15,939 personnel consisting of 12,151 internal API personnel and 3,788 external personnel.

"This external personnel consists of BMKG, there is TNI, there is Polri, then there are friends from immigration, customs, quarantine, this is all gathering at our post," he explained.

Although passenger traffic is projected to reach 605,000 in Nataru, Wendo said it is still far from being compared to the movement on Eid al-Fitr or Lebaran in 2024.

However, he continued, when compared to the previous Christmas and New Year period, passenger traffic is still projected to increase by 6 percent.

"If 6 percent (increase) to Nataru 2023/2024. But if we talk about Eid, it looks like the movement is even bigger," he said.