Ministry Of Transportation Asked To Evaluate The High Price Of Airplane Tickets To Aceh: Jakarta-Aceh Can Cost Rp. 3 Million, Whereas Jakarta-Kualanamu Is Only Rp. 1 Million

JAKARTA - Chairman of Commission III of the Aceh House of Representatives (DPRA) Teuku Raja Keumangan (TRK) asked the Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) to evaluate the high price of plane tickets to Tanah Rencong.

"We ask the Ministry of Transportation to evaluate the expensive ticket prices to Aceh because it is very different from North Sumatra, even though the distance between the provinces is not very far," said Dr. Teuku Raja Keumangan in Banda Aceh, reported by Antara, Monday, August 8.

TRK said the price of plane tickets from various airlines from Jakarta to Aceh or vice versa ranged between Rp. 2 million and Rp. 3 million. The departure/arrival to Kualanamu Medan starts from the price of Rp. 1 million.

The price difference, he said, also made many Acehnese choose to depart from Kualanamu as more economical. This unfavorable condition also affects economic growth in Aceh.

"This condition is not very good for Aceh's economy. Therefore, we ask the Ministry of Transportation to be present to resolve this plane ticket problem, especially since many Acehnese have complained," he said.

In addition to the Ministry of Transportation, TRK also urges the Aceh Provincial Government to make certain efforts to the central government so that airline tickets to Aceh can really be readjusted so that it does not burden the Acehnese people who want to use flight services.

He said that Aceh's tourism had started to grow again and the government also did not stop promoting Aceh, both from its natural beauty, culture, history, and cuisine.

The promotion is a step to introduce Aceh's advantages to the Indonesian people and abroad in the hope that domestic and foreign tourists visit Tanah Rencong.

However, continued TRK, if the flight ticket to the westernmost province of Indonesia is still high, it will greatly affect the arrival rate of people to Aceh, and automatically hamper the pace of economic growth.

"We hope that the central government will really pay attention to the problem of the high price of air tickets to Aceh so that more people visit Aceh and make the economy grow," said the Golkar Party politician.