Limited Number of Planes, AP I Boss Worried About Rising Ticket Prices at Christmas and New Year 2023

JAKARTA - The main director of PT Angkasa Pura I (Persero) or AP I, Faik Fahmi, admits that he is worried that there will be an increase in airplane ticket prices during the 2022 Christmas and 2023 New Year holiday periods.

This is because the number of aircraft operating in the current period is very small.

Faik admitted that during the Christmas and New Year holidays, demand tends to increase.

The limited number of available planes, said Faik, could lead to an increase in ticket prices.

"I think this will be an issue in the implementation of Nataru, the possibility of limited numbers of planes causing ticket prices to tend to be high because the demand is strong, but the number of aircraft operated is still very limited", he said in a hearing with Commission VI of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Wednesday, December 14th.

Based on data from AP I, said Faik, currently there are 402 aircraft in operation.

This figure is only around 62 percent when compared to the number of aircraft operating during the Christmas and the 2023 New Year period, before the COVID-19 pandemic, which was 650 aircraft.

"In terms of the number of aircraft being operated, there is currently a problem related to the limited number of aircraft being operated because they are still affected by the pandemic", he said.

Faik said that his party had coordinated with the Ministry of Transportation to anticipate the increase in ticket prices during Christmas and the 2023 New Year.

"This is also an issue that was discussed yesterday with the Ministry of Transportation", he said.

Faik added, AP I was also asked to control so that tickets did not soar higher than the predetermined upper limit.

"So we are asked to participate in controlling the upper limit tariffs so that ticket prices are not sold too expensive or exceed the limit set by the Ministry of Transportation", he said.

The following is a list of aircraft operating during Christmas and New Year:

- Garuda Indonesia (GA): 55 units

- Lion Air (JT): 91 units

- Citilink (QG): 48 units

- Pelita Air (IP): three units

- Air Batik (ID): 63 units

- Susi Air (SI): 24 units

- AirAsia (QZ): 17 units

- Sriwijaya Air (SJ): five units

- Nam Air (IN): two units

- Trans Nusa (8B): three units

- Wings Air (IW): 50 units

- Trigana Air (IL): four units

- Super Air Jet (IU): 37 units