Garuda Indonesia Optimistic To Reach Passengers Who Had Reduced 90 Percent

Garuda Indonesia aircraft. (Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - President Director of PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk, Irfaniaputra, is confident that he can revive the enthusiasm for mobility in the aviation sector. As we all know, the aviation industry is one of the sectors affected by the COVID-19.

Irfan said, at the beginning of the year, his party observed the movement patterns of public flights, both domestically and to and from abroad. This mobility is predicted to be a positive market for the aviation sector.

"We are optimistic in January, especially since the economy in Indonesia shows a positive sign," said Irfan in a virtual discussion, Tuesday, June 16.

However, since Indonesia was hit by the corona virus outbreak in early March, the government has finally restricted people's travel. People are asked to do activities such as working and studying from home.

During the Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) period, the government only allowed a number of sectors that were allowed to travel, such as the basic needs business sector, government agencies, and people who specialized in handling COVID-19.

This, said Irfan, would automatically cause significant losses in the aviation industry. In fact, Irfan noted that the number of flight passengers at Garuda Indonesia had decreased by 90 percent.

"In May alone, we experienced a decrease in the number of passengers staying 10 percent, to 90 percent. This is because mobility is a node of activity. The Ministry of Transportation and the Task Force agreed to limit the movement of people. This has resulted in a very drastic reduction in the number of passengers," said Irfan. .

In addition to the decrease in passengers, Irfan also said that 70 percent of the planes were grounded (parked) and could not fly. "The number of aircraft flying and the number of aircraft is inversely proportional to previous years. This has significant implications," he said.

However, at this time, Irfan will try to revive Garuda by taking advantage of the type of passenger who often flies using this state-owned airline to visit new places (traveling). Moreover, currently airlines can carry 70 percent of passengers.

This type of passenger will be Garuda's target to increase the number of passengers in the new normal phase. Of course, by still paying attention to safety and health during this pagebluk period.

Longing for a walk

Furthermore, said Irfan, people also miss shopping in modern shopping centers. This is because the closure of the shopping centers is a problem for some Jakarta residents. This could be related to the possibility that they also missed traveling.

"Well, this is what we will make sure, if they want to fly to be safe," he said.

Irfan did not deny that due to this virus, people would be more concerned about health and hygiene. This is because the health sector has become a new theme of civilization. Therefore, Garuda will harmonize services by building a sense of security and comfort for passengers.

"This pandemic makes us at Garuda Indonesia realize that customer behavior is something very typical for our main goal. We believe, in the future there are still many people who choose to fly. We hope people realize flying is an amazing experience," he continued.