The Surge In Airplane Passengers At The Christmas-New Year Holidays, The Minister Of Transportation Asked For Ticket Prices Not To 'Aji Mumpung'

Photo via Antara

Minister of Transportation (Menhub) Budi Karya Sumadi acknowledged the trend of increasing the number of passengers using aircraft during the current 2022 Christmas and 2023 New Year holidays.

"From the reports I received, the number of flights yesterday had exceeded 1,000 flights, reaching 1,040 flights per day. Today may be more. This is a sign of the revival of Indonesian flights," said the Minister of Transportation while visiting Soekarno Hatta Airport, Friday, December 23, as reported by Antara.

In the midst of increasing flight frequency, the Minister of Transportation asked flight facilities and infrastructure operators to make a number of preparations to anticipate congestion and queues at the airport.

"Some of the points I inspected today are ground handling. I ask AP II and related stakeholders to increase the number of equipment and workers there, because delays in taking goods usually occur at that location," he said.

Furthermore, regarding flight ticket rates, the Minister of Transportation has communicated with airlines not to apply too high prices.

He appealed to the public to choose flight hours at night or early morning to get more competitive tickets.

"I also ask airlines to operationalize their airlines optimally, so that our brothers in Papua, Ambon, NTT can be served properly," he said.

Furthermore, the Minister of Transportation also asked a number of airports to optimize operating hours, so as to maximize the frequency of take off and landing of aircraft.

In his review, the Minister of Transportation also checked the Umrah lounge at Terminal 3 to monitor services for Umrah pilgrims.

The Ministry of Transportation also prepared several service steps, namely moving some international flights to Terminal 2F and providing lounge areas for Umrah pilgrims to feel more comfortable while waiting for flights.

"Earlier I saw that our Umrah brothers and sisters had been given lounge facilities. With good facilities, we are more confident in providing good service to the community," he said.

Also present at the review were President Director of Angkasa Pura II Muhammad Awaluddin and Director General of Civil Aviation Maria Kristi Endah Murni.